Moving On
by ditzie-blonde
Summary: What happens the first night that Ichigo loses his "Substitute" status and becomes a fully fledged Soul Reaper? Does the relationship between him and Rukia change now that they will be living in the same world? Set approximately 20 years after the Lost Agent Arc and not taking into account the 1,000 Year War Arc as I want to pretend everything is "A OK" in the world of Bleach!
1. Chapter 1

"Sorry!" Ichigo Kurosaki shouted behind him to the business man he had just ploughed into as he sprinted through Tokyo Train Station, desperate to make the 16.03 train to Karakura. His sister Karin had called him only 30 minutes ago to inform him that their sister Yuzu had gone into labour 2 weeks early with her fourth child and that their Dad was going crazy with excitement. Apparently his presence was needed immediately to control the old man and also to babysit his nieces and nephew as Karin had to leave early the next morning for a football tour around Europe, something she couldn't miss seeing as she was the star player of Japan's female football team.

Ichigo ducked and dived as he weaved his way through the crowds until he finally saw the train, his heart dropping and anger and frustration flooding through him as he saw the queue for the security turnstiles. He didn't have time for this! He had to get to Karakura to be with his family! Reaching into the back pocket of his jeans he grabbed his MPD Inspector's badge and flashed it at the security guard as he cut through the queue and sprinted the final few feet to the train. Admittedly he shouldn't have just abused his position as one of Tokyo's finest Inspector's by flashing his badge purely to cut a line because he was in a hurry, but this was _almost_ a life or death situation. If anyone had seen what his Dad was like whilst waiting for a new grandchild to arrive into the world they would understand why he done what he just had. With one final spurt of energy he leapt onto the first open door of the train he came to and breathed a sigh of relief as the doors shut behind him only seconds later.

The train was extremely busy and crowded, but after walking through a few carriages he miraculously managed to find two seats for himself and he threw his bag onto the spare seat next to him as he sat down. Being an Inspector in MPD meant he quite frequently needed a change of clothes so when Karin had called him he had simply grabbed his bag from his locker and told his boss that he was taking a weeks holiday, the fact that he was one of Tokyo's most successful Homicide Inspectors' and was somewhat of a workaholic meant that his boss easily agreed to his request.

Quickly he sent a text to Karin to let her know he was on his way and what time the train would be arriving before he settled into his seat for the journey back home. A small smile appeared on Ichigo's face as he thought of the new life Yuzu was bringing into the world, which was quickly replaced with a shudder as he remembered what his father had been like the last two times Yuzu had been in labour, the first time with her son, Daitaro, and the second time with her identical twin daughters, Aimi and Nene. He hoped the labour wouldn't be too painful or traumatic for her, although he had to admit his sister made pregnancy and childbirth look easy, and he wondered whether he would be an uncle to a new niece or nephew.

Retrieving his I-pod from his bag he placed the headphones in his ears and watched the changing landscape as the train travelled through the various suburbs of Tokyo towards Karakura, becoming more and more nostalgic as the miles passed . He smiled fondly to himself as he remembered the days when he used to fight with Tatsuki in the local dojo, the family picnics they used to go on before his mother died, the festivals and temples he attended with his friends and family, talking to pluses so they wouldn't feel lonely and sad, and even school and the fights Chad and he had gotten into. How simple life had been back then. That was before Rukia had come into his life and he had become a Substitute Soul Reaper and saviour of Soul Society.

He couldn't complain though, the last 20 years had been kind to him. Having defeated Aizen and the Fullbringers it seems that "evil" had decided to take a break, either that or Hueco Mundo was still in such disarray after Aizen's defeat that the battle for the top spot was still being fought by whoever resided there now, and things in the Human World had quietened down significantly. Sure, there was still hollow activity, but they were mainly low level and things were nowhere near as bad as they had been when Aizen was around.

After graduating from Karakura High he'd moved to Tokyo to attend University and he'd became one of the soul reapers that protected the city, the conurbation being so large that more than one soul reaper was required to protect it. His fellow soul reapers had been in awe of him to start with, having heard the stories of how he had he saved Soul Society many times, but they had soon become good friends and they socialising together whenever they got the chance. He'd attended The University of Tokyo earning, a joint degree in English Literature and Psychology, and also had his first serious girlfriend. Life had been relatively normal for him during that period of his life, although juggling a girlfriend, school, a part time job and his duties as a substitute soul reaper had been challenging. However, finding a job after graduation had proved even more difficult as his position as a substitute soul reaper meant he often had to leave work suddenly and at awkward times. He had been fired from a few jobs for his erratic behaviour and eventually he had found his way to the MPD. Being a Police Officer suited him, he had the freedom to roam the city whenever he needed to and it helped appease the part of him that needed to see justice done.

He quickly rose through the ranks and by the time he was 28 he was working as a Homicide Inspector. As a Homicide Inspector his substitute soul reaper status came in handy as some of the murders were committed by hollows and the soul was still fighting or hiding from the hollow at the crime scene. In these cases he'd been able to stop the poor soul from being eaten by the hollow as he'd slipped out of his body and defeated it before performing a konso to send the soul to Soul Society. Although it was sad to witness the death of a human, it gave him great peace knowing that he had sent the soul safely to Soul Society, even if it did mean he would then spend the next few weeks searching for a "murderer" that didn't exist.

Unfortunately his love for his job and his passion for justice had turned him into somewhat of a workaholic and his relationship with is college girlfriend had ended soon after he had entered MPD. He'd had a few flings since then, but nothing serious. He was dedicated into righting all the injustice in the world, either as a Police Inspector or as a substitute soul reaper, and he had to admit he was pretty good at both. Luckily for him Yuzu had provided their father with three wonderful grandchildren which had relieved some of the pressure his Dad had been putting on him to reproduce the next Kurosaki. Ichigo didn't see what the problem was, after all he was only 38, he still had time to get married and start a family.

Thinking of his substitute soul reaper role reminded him that he needed to inform Soul Society that he was on holiday for a week in Karakura so that a temporary soul reaper could be assigned to his patch. Rummaging around in his bag he quickly retrieved his denreishinki and sent a text message to the 13th Division, Captain Ukitake being his superior officer, to appraise them of his situation. Briefly he wondered if she would get it.

Rukia.

It had been 20 years since he had seen her and over that time he had kicked himself more than once about how he had left things:

_"See you around, Rukia"... _

_..."This isn't going to be the last time, so who cares how many times I say it?"_

The only problem was, it _had_ been the last time he had seen her to date. Without an enemy to fight there really was no need for him to go to the Soul Society, and as Rukia was still a Lieutenant (he sometimes received orders that had been signed by her), there really was no need for her to come to the Human World as she could delegate such tasks, especially as "evil" seemed to be taking a break. Apart from his fellow soul reapers based in Tokyo, there really was no need for any of his old friends to come to the Human World now as there was no real threat and he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss them. Especially her.

Often he wondered if she was the reason he'd not gotten married or started a family yet, a part of him longed for that "white picket fence" life after all. But no woman he'd ever met could compare to her or understand him like she could. He'd never been as close to anyone as he had been to her, not even with his college girlfriend. A human couldn't understand his duties as a soul reaper and trying to come up with an excuse as to why he needed to leave at 3am to go and fight a hollow was often difficult. He couldn't explain what he'd been through as a teenager, and what he continued to deal with on almost a daily basis, to a human. Solitude seemed to be the easier option.

Feeling slightly melancholy, he reached into his bag to retrieve his text book as he was currently studying for the Superintendents exam next month, and that's when he felt it; a small shudder. Not a second later a he felt a bigger shudder but this time the shuddering didn't stop. Everything started to rattle and the train felt like it was jumping on and off the tracks. Adrenaline shot through him as he realised an earthquake had struck and his heart dropped into his stomach as he realised the train was trying to cross a bridge that covered a deep ravine. Suddenly there was a large bang and the last thing Ichigo remembered before darkness encroached was the sound of twisting metal and his body being thrown forward into the carriage.

* * *

_I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and let me know what you think. Chapters 1 and 2 are setting the scene and then things start moving from there. _

_I've never been to Japan so I had to use Google to find out about the Japanese Police Force. According to Wikipedia, MPD is the Metropolitan Police Department which is the main Police Department in Central Tokyo. Apologies if I got any of this wrong. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favourited the story, it means a lot and I hope I can live up to everyone's expectations._

_**Disclaimer**: Oops! Realised I forgot to put this on the first chapter, anyway, in case you haven't realised I don't own Bleach._

* * *

On the whole Rukia Kuchiki loved her job as the Lieutenant of the 13th Division of the Court Guard Squads however, having just spent all day writing reports and filing she was quite sure that she now hated paperwork. Her small body ached from being in one position all day, her hand hurt as a result of holding such a small instrument for hours upon end, and her head ached from the eye strain concentrating on the documents for such a long period of time had caused. Breathing a sigh of relief that the arduous task was now over, she slowly got up from her desk and stretched her body to relieve some of the tension from her muscles before moving towards Captain Ukitake's office to place the last few reports that required his signature on his desk. The 13th Division had recently been allocated a new batch of recruits fresh from the Academy, and being the man that he was, Captain Ukitake always insisted in training the new recruits at least one day per week, and today had been that day. The 13th Division Captain was currently on the training grounds with the new intake and she wondered if she could join them for the last few hours of the day as she could really do with working out her tired and cramped body after such a tedious day.

Walking outside she squinted as the late afternoon sun hit her face, the warmth of the sun immediately making her feel better. She inhaled a deep breath of fresh air and immediately felt the tension in her head release somewhat. Yes, a few hours training was definitely what she needed to clear her mind and body. Decision made she started to head towards Division 13's training ground, when seemingly out of nowhere a memory of Orihime and herself training on the very same grounds she was now heading towards came into her head and a small smile lit up her face as she reminisced. How long ago that seemed! In reality it was only a little over 20 years ago and by Soul Society standards that was not much time at all. That was back in the days before she was a Lieutenant, before she was partly responsible for the welfare of an entire Division, and when travelling to the human world had been necessary as the threat of Aizen and the arrancars loamed over them all.

In a bizarre way, things had been a lot more simple then. There had been no rotas to sort out, sick or injured soul reapers to attend to in the 4th Division, cover to arrange, holidays to authorise, budgets to work out, stock takes to make to ensure everyone in the Division was fed, watered and clothed, no paperwork to complete, no meetings to attend...She'd simply attended Karakura High School - a completely different experience from her time at the Shino Academy - she'd done her homework, she'd made _friends_ with whom she'd socialised with regularly, and she had even been adopted into the Kurosaki family. Sure, there was the constant threat of Aizen and the arrancars and she'd had to train Ichigo in the art of killing hollows etc etc, as well as providing regular _verbal_ reports to Soul Society, but all in all she felt like she had the teenage years she had been denied growing up in Inuzuri, plus she'd finally known the joy of having a family. Although she was grateful to Byakuya for adopting her into the Kuchiki family and she understood his reasons, she never felt like she truly belonged and the hostility the elders felt toward her was evident. She was little more than a bargaining tool in their eyes, after all, she may not have Kuchiki blood but she still carried their name and she was smart enough to know that to some of the other noble families the fact that she had the Kuchiki name was enough. It was only a matter of time before they arranged a marriage for her that would no doubt benefit the Kuchiki family in some way, in fact Byakuya had spoken to her only last night about arranging a meeting with a potential suitor. Things had been so different at the Kurosaki's. Although Isshin had driven his children crazy, she had loved his home. There was freedom and there was love and she have felt comfortable and welcome there. All of them were free to express themselves how they pleased, and apart from basic manners and respect for each other, there was no etiquette to follow and no rules to obey. Sometimes she wished she could go back, but with Aizen now safely in jail, Hueco Mundo still being in the throes of a civil war, and the Fullbringers now defeated, there was little threat to the human world and things had returned to the way they were before Aizen, Ichimaru and Tosen had betrayed Soul Society. Unranked soul reapers were sent to the world of the living to protect the wondering souls and it was even unusual for a ranked officer to go to the human world now, let alone a Captain or Lieutenant.

Feeling slightly down from her walk down memory lane, she stopped as she reached the edges of the training ground and was taken aback as she witnessed her Captain fighting with the new recruits. No matter how many times she saw Captain Ukitake fight it always surprised her how strong and focused a warrior he was. She supposed it was because she saw him more often than others when he was sick (as there were various forms and reports that only he could sign), that it was breathtaking to watch him fight when he was well. Right now he was in the middle of demonstrating an offensive technique with some of the other ranked officers and she decided just to sit and watch them all for a while, after all, it wasn't often she got to see him fight and it was still inspiring to watch Captain Ukitake even after all this time. She hadn't hidden her reiatsu and she knew that Captain Ukitake would know she was around and he would no doubt be summoning her once the demonstration was complete.

As she watched the fighting unveil in front of her, her mind continued to mull over the past and she suddenly felt homesick for Karakura and all her old friends and adopted family, especially one person:

Ichigo.

It had been over 20 years since she had last seen him at the senkaimon and their parting had been as nonchalant as ever, each assuming they would be seeing each other again soon. It was how they said goodbye. He would always be laid back and aloof and she would be the same, but a part of each of them always knew they would be seeing the other sooner rather than later. Ichigo would return to the world of the living, a few months would pass before there would be some threat to the human world or Soul Society, and she would be back in Karakura or he would be back in Soul Society. The only problem was, this time it hadn't happened. There had been no threat since the Fullbringers and Ichigo had no reason to come to Soul Society, and she'd had no reason to go to the human world. As a Lieutenant it would look strange for her to go to the world of the living, especially as the threats nowadays were so low level, and she should be delegating those types of assignments to her subordinates anyway. She had thought about taking a holiday in the human world, the only problem was she wasn't sure where Ichigo was. She'd heard on the grapevine that he'd moved to Tokyo after finishing high school and she was pretty sure he was still in that area, she'd seen the reports after all, the only problem was, she didn't know exactly _where_ Ichigo was. Law had been passed since the Fullbringers incident that only Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Captain Ukitake had the authority to track Ichigo's whereabouts with his combat pass and her pride had gotten in the way of her asking her Captain for help. Besides, she didn't know what Ichigo was up to now. He could be married with kids and he could have forgotten all about her for all she knew.

It was a good year after they had said their last goodbye that she realised she was pining for Ichigo and she was woman enough to admit that in hindsight she'd had a slight crush on the teenager. In her defence he had saved her life on more than one occasion. She could be herself around him and he accepted her for who she was, even if he didn't appreciate her talent for drawing rabbits. He didn't bow down to her because of her name and he treated her as an equal. He was fiercely protective, especially of his family and friends, and he believed in equality and fairness. Despite how powerful he was he didn't go looking for fights, like Captain Zaraki, and he only fought to defend what he thought was right, fair and just. After everything he had been through it had been clear the last time he had left that he was no longer a teenager but had matured into a young man- a very handsome, buff young man at that. She could see the wisdom in his eyes and a part of her thought it was unfair that someone so young had lived such a tumultuous live and witnessed so much bloodshed already. Her only wish was that wherever Ichigo was in the world, he was happy.

Turning her full attention to the training ground below her, a frown crinkled her brow as she realised Captain Ukitake had stopped in the middle of the technique to receive a hell butterfly and a look of concern was now on his face.

"Lieutenant Kuchiki!" he yelled, obviously sensing her presence nearby.

"Hai!" she yelled as she quickly jumped down onto the training ground and ran across to her superior officer.

"Oh good, you're here. It appears there has been a severe earthquake west of Tokyo causing a train to crash between Tokyo and Karakura. The local soul reapers are overwhelmed with the number of casualties in the cities and towns following the earthquake and can't reach the remote location of the train crash so we've been asked to assist. It's a nasty crash in a desolate area and the number of souls are drawing many hollows to the area. We've been asked to send a team to assist with performing konso's on the lost souls to bring them safely to Soul Society. Can you lead the group? Division 11 will be providing the combat squad."

Rukia's heart dropped as her Captain recounted the news to her. Mass disasters were one of their biggest tasks now as the sheer number of souls released would attract many hollows to that particular area and it was up to the 13 Court Guard Squads to protect those souls in their time of need. Disasters were the only times a seated officer would go to the world of the living now, and seeing as many of the other seated officers in Division 13 had been assisting Captain Ukitake with training and quite frankly looked exhausted, it appeared she was the most suitable candidate for the job. After 20 years she would finally get to go to the human world, although she knew it would not be a pleasurable mission. Of all the konso's they performed, the ones at the scene of a mass disaster were always the worst. The poor souls were so confused and often angry about what had happened to them that if sometimes took all a soul reapers persuasion and compassion to prevent the soul from turning into a hollow and it was mentally and physically tiring.

"Hai , Captain" she answered in a strong tone, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice.

"Thank you, Rukia. I know this is a tragedy but it's up to us to comfort those poor souls and bring them safely into our world" Captain Ukitake answered kindly "I will finish with the recruits and make a start on the mission paperwork for when you get back" he added with a small smile.

Rukia returned the small gesture "Thank you, Captain"

"The senkaimon will be open in 10 minutes, I trust you will have a team ready to go by then?" he asked in an authoritive tone.

"Hai" she answered as she turned and flashed stepped back to the barracks to gather her team for the mission.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and as always, reviews are welcome._

_Just so you know, I will probably update this story once a week, most likely on the weekends. I have a few busy weekends lined up but will try and keep to the once a week updating as best I can._


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to everyone who viewed, favourited or alerted the last chapter. _

_This chapter is a bit "choppy", as in it switches between different peoples views during the course of the same event. I've put a line where the peoples views change, but apologies if I have missed one. I hope the chapter makes sense and you all enjoy it! _

**_Warning: _**_Towards the end there is a scene that some may consider gory, although I've tried to make it as least gory as possible. There is also one word later on that some may consider a swear word (I think it falls within the "T" category, but then again my secondary school wasn't the best so I had heard a lot of coarse language by the time I was 13!)._

**_Disclaimer: _**_Still don't own Bleach. _

* * *

Ichigo awoke with a groan as he realised he was lying on his stomach on some extremely hard and rough terrain. What had happened? Gingerly he moved his arms and legs and was pleased to find them all still intact and moving. In the distance he could hear a screeching sound and in a second he was alert and on his feet as he instantly recognised the noise. It was a hollow, many of them if he was not mistaken.

Looking around he surveyed the scene before him and tried to remember what had happened. There was twisted metal, fires burning, and numerous souls wondering around - some of whom were calling out for loved ones and others just looked as confused as he felt. The last thing he remembered was being on a train, then the train started rocking as the bridge on which they had been crossing started shaking... That's right, he'd been on a train back to Karakura when an earthquake had struck. He glanced up and realised that a portion of the bridge had collapsed and all the evidence pointed to the train having derailed into the ravine. Great! Just what he needed when Yuzu was in labour and he was needed back home! He didn't have time to dwell on the fact that it was unlikely he would be home in time for his new niece or nephew's arrival into the big wide world as he quickly realised that it was unlikely a soul reaper was stationed here in this remote area and it was up to him to protect the souls until assistance from Soul Society arrived, the disaster no doubt having gained their attention.

With the screams of the hollows becoming louder he reached for his Combat Pass but was surprised to find that he was already in his shinigami uniform. Confusion raced through him as to the state of his attire however, he didn't have much time to ponder why he was already in his shingami robes as the first hollow appeared and he instantly drew Zangetsu and headed towards it.

* * *

"Do you all understand?" Rukia yelled to her team as she stood in front of the senkaimon barely 9 minutes after being given her orders by Captain Ukitake. Third seat of Division 11, Ikkaku Madarame, stood on the opposite side of her team briefing his team respectively.

"Hai Lieutenant!" her comrades yelled in return.

"Lieutenant Kuchiki, are you ready to go?" Ikkaku yelled to her only a moment later.

"Hai!" she replied "Open the senkaimon!"

Once the doors were open she nodded to Ikkaku who led his team through the doors first. A minute later she followed with her team and they sprinted towards the living world and the site of the disaster.

* * *

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo yelled as he swung his zanpakuto taking out three hollows as he did so. Where were his fellow Soul Reapers? Surely news of the earthquake and train crash would have reached Soul Society by now? It felt like an eternity since he had awoken at the crash site and hollows were flocking to the site in droves, not to mention the poor anguished souls from the wreckage who were turning into hollows once they realised what had happened to their bodies and that their human lives had been ended so abruptly. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed back up. He couldn't perform konso's on the remaining souls and protect them from the hollows at the same time.

As if Soul Society had read his mind, seconds later he saw a bright light and a doorway appeared in the sky. He watched as the doors slid open and relief flooded through him as numerous Soul Reapers charged forward. Finally back up had arrived.

"Split up guys and let's have some fun!" came a voice with an almost gleefully maniacal tone, which Ichigo immediately recognised even after all this time.

"Hai!" the group of soul reapers replied in glee as they split up and started chasing hollows immediately.

"Ikkaku!" Ichigo yelled wanting to let his old friend know that he was here too.

The bald headed man turned in surprise at the sound of a voice he hadn't heard in over 20 years. "Ichigo! What are you doing here man?" he yelled.

"Was on the train" Ichigo answered bluntly. "You still in Squad 11?"

"You know it! Got summoned here 10 minutes ago to kill these puny hollows. You still up for the fight?" Ikkaku challenged.

"Hell yeah! Who do you think has been slaying all these hollows waiting for your lazy asses to show up?" Ichigo responded with a smirk "But we need some guys on the ground, the dead passengers are turning into hollows almost as fast as I'm killing 'em" he informed his comrade seriously.

"Already taken care of" Ikkaku yelled back over the screams of the hollows. "Lieutenant Kuchiki is on her way".

"Rukia's coming?" Ichigo stated in surprise, his heart leaping in his chest at the sound of her name.

"Yeah. Squad 13 are following and are in charge of perfoming konso" Ikkaku replied with frustration, eager to get on with killing the numerous hollows. "Now are you ready to fight, Kurosaki?" he yelled, pleasure evident in his voice.

"Yeah" he replied distractedly as thoughts of Rukia plagued his thoughts.

"Then let's go!" Ikkaku yelled.

Ichigo paused for a second as butterflies started fluttering in his stomach and his heart continued to beat rapidly in his chest at the thought of seeing Rukia again after all this time. However, he didn't have time to ponder her arrival any further as seconds later he saw a hollow flying towards him from the corner of his eye and he quickly turned to face it as he swung Zengetsu.

"Getsuga Tensho..."

* * *

Rukia sprinted through the senkaimon as her team followed her. From the reports they had received the train crash had been a nasty one and there where hundreds of casualties, she just hoped they could get there in time to save as many souls as possible. From experience she knew that many of the souls involved in a horrific accident, such as this, were at risk of turning into hollows from the anguished they experienced from dying so suddenly and unexpectedly. Her squads presence were needed to provide reassurance at this difficult time to hopefully provide some comfort and peace to the affected souls. It was only when the souls had calmed down and somewhat accepted what had happened to them that a konso could be performed.

Bursting through the senkaimon into the late evening sky she gasped at the site that greeted her. It could only be described as complete and utter destruction and it took all her training as a Kuchiki not to let the shock appear on her face.

Twisted metal of what was now an unrecognisable train was strewn all around and fires from the wreckage lit up the early evening sky and scorched the ground beneath. It appeared the emergency services had not yet reached the remote location, not that there was anything they could do for the poor passengers now, and the stench of death filled the air. From what she could tell few people had survived the crash and there were hundreds of confused and angry souls wondering the area. As a result of this the Division 11 soul reapers were already hard at work as they battled the endless streams of hollows that had invaded the area and she knew that tonight was not going to a pleasant one, she hoped their casualties would be kept to a minimum.

But now was not the time to get emotional though as there was a job to be done. Fixing her face into a stoic look of pure concentration that even her brother would be proud of, she turned her head around to look over her shoulder as she yelled at her colleagues:

"Remember, the souls on the ground need us. Leave the fighting to Squad 11, we need to perform as many konsos as we can to get these souls over to Soul Society as quickly and as safely as we can and to stop drawing hollows to this area. Understand?"

"Hai!" came the reply of her eager comrades and she watched as they split into their allocated teams and spread among the victims of the train wreckage. She was just about to join them as she saw the last team land when a voice from behind her gained her attention.

"Getsuga Tensho!"

Rukia gasped and turned around, immediately seeing an orange and black streak flash by her. "Ichigo!" she exclaimed in a whisper, her heart immediately speeding up. Why was he here? Why hadn't either herself or Ikkau been briefed on this?

Ichigo swung Zengetsu yet again and watched with relief as another hollow was destroyed. Breathing heavily he turned round and his eyes widened as he saw who was before him.

"Rukia?" he whispered, his heart rate once again increasing and a small smile fell upon his lips as he rushed towards her, something that was against every battle technique he had learnt yet he couldn't stop himself moving forwards. She had changed a lot over the past 20 years. Her dark hair was now long and cut into choppy layers that currently swirled around her in the wind, although it comforted him to see that stubborn strand in the middle of her forehead remained. She had filled out too since the last time he had seen her and she now had definite curves and a fuller bust.

Rukia watched in awe as the orange haired Soul Reaper made his way towards her, her limbs suddenly feeling like jelly and her breathing increasing. Time had been good to Ichigo. His bright orange hair was still the same ridiculous colour, but it was slightly longer and wilder given him an edgy look. He had crinkles in the corners of his eyes and two deep verticle lines were starting to form in his forehead, no doubt the result of the amount of time he spent scowling. His shoulders were broader, he seemed taller, and he still seemed as toned and fit as when she had last seen him.

Even in the middle of battle time seem to stand still for the soul reaper and substitute soul reaper as they met again after several decades apart.

"Hi" she whispered, a soft smile on her face.

"Hi" he answered in return, suddenly in awe of the beautiful woman that stood before him.

Substitute soul reaper stared at soul reaper for what felt like an eternity, neither knowing what to say or do, both seemingly oblivious to their surroundings and aware of the heightened tension that was growing between them. A screeching sound filled the air breaking their reverie and immediately the warm expressions vanished from both their faces.

"We have work to do baka!" Rukia exclaimed to Ichigo as she clipped his head with her hand, her expression now one of flustered annoyance.

"What was that for?" Ichigo yelled in frustration after the petite soul reaper who was now heading towards the ground below him. Damn that midget could hit hard!

"If you have to ask than you're more of an idiot than I thought!" Rukia yelled back at him "Now start working!"

With a heavy sigh Ichigo once again raised his zanpaktou and started chasing after the screeching hollow that had just broken up his and Rukia's moment, one thought clear in his head. That hollow was going to pay for interrupting his reunion with Rukia.

* * *

Rukia placed the hilt of her zanpakuto on the forehead of what appeared to be the last of the train crash victims and watched with relief, and a hint of sadness, as the soul headed towards Soul Society. The last soul had been a small child who had been hiding under some wreckage waiting for her parents to find her and it had taken all of Rukia's acting abilities and kindness to get her to come out from the wreckage and allow her to perform the konso.

She had no idea how long Squad 11 and Squad 13 had been there, but the sky was now pitch black and she was exhausted. The mission had been physically and mentally exhausting as her team had chased after the wandering souls, gently told them what had happened, explained they were going to a better place, and performed the konso. She simply could not wait to get home, her body ached, she was hot and sweaty from the fires that still burned, and she was exhausted from having to perform so many konsos. The emergency services had still not arrived, given the ruggedness of the area and the remote location, and anyone who had survived the crash had died hours ago and was now safely in Soul Society.

"What shall we do now Lieutenant?" one of her subordinates asked her as her team surrounded her.

Turning she looked up at the sky and realised that there were only a few hollows left, which Squad 11 and Ichigo were handling with ease.

"Return to the barracks and get some rest. I'll expect your reports on my desk by the end of tomorrow" she replied kindly, the weariness evident in her voice.

"Hai Lieutenant" they replied and she watched as they headed towards the senkaimon to return to Soul Society. She decided she would stay a little while longer just in case they had missed any of the souls of the train crash victims.

Using the last of her strength she shunpoed to Ikkaku who was stood observing his team as the last of the hollows were destroyed.

"I've sent my team back" she informed her combat partner "We've performed konso on all the souls we can find, but I'll stick around a while longer in case there are any we've missed. Need some help?"

"Nah Lieutenant, Squad 11 has this. I think we should only be another hour or so. Those souls having crossed over seems to have stopped the flow of hollows to this area and we're just checking the area now to make sure there are none left." Ikkaku advised her in a businesslike tone.

"Did you lose anyone?" Rukia asked seriously.

Ikkaku glanced at her "A few injured, but I've already sent them to Squad 4 for treatment" he informed her "You?"

"We were lucky. A few twisted ankles due to the rocky terrain but otherwise we're all ok" Rukia informed him in the same serious tone.

"Were there any survivors?" Ikkaku questionned as he nodded to the scene of destruction below.

"No" Rukia answered simply, sadness creeping into her voice.

An awkward moment passed between them before Ikkaku spoke again "So, Ichigo's here, huh?"

Rukia mind started whirling again as she thought about her earlier meeting with the substitute soul reaper and she wondered once again why she had not been briefed about him being at the scene "Hey Ikkaku, did you know about Ichigo being here?" she asked him, mild confusion evident in her voice.

Ikkaku shot her a surprised look before his brows knit together in confusion and concentration "Come to mention it, Kenpachi didn't mention anything about Ichigo being here and I'm sure if he'd have known Ichigo was here he would have handled this situation himself" he replied with a gleeful smile.

Rukia pondered the situation further, her brow furrowed in concentration. "I'll be on the ground if you need me Madarame" she informed him distractedly as she floated back towards the horrific scene before her.

* * *

"All clear Ikkaku" Ichigo informed his comrade as he finished checking the forest at the top of the ravine for hollows. "Need anything else?"

Ikkaku turned towards the substitute soul reaper "Nah, we're all done. You were the last one out there so I sent the rest of the squad back, it's only Kuchiki down there now"

Ichigo frowned in concern "Captain or Lieutenant?" he asked hesitantly.

Ikkaku laughed at the slightly fearful expression on Ichigo's face "Lieutenant you pussy. Still not getting on with the Captain of Division 6 I see?"

Ichigo simply scowled in return and increased his reitsu to let his fellow soul reaper know his feelings on the subject of Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Alright man, gees!" Ikkaku returned still laughing. Suddenly his expression turned sombre as he remembered something that Ichigo had said earlier popped into his head. "You were on that train?" he asked Ichigo, suddenly serious.

"Yeah" Ichigo answered quietly as he looked down at the crash site before him. Damn it was going to be hard for him to find his body down there. "Well, I supposed I better go and say goodbye to Rukia before she goes back to Soul Society. It was good seeing you man!" Ichigo said as he shunpoed away to find Rukia.

He didn't hear Ikkaku calling out behind him.

* * *

Rukia stared at the ground before her breathing heavily as it took all her self-control to not start crying. It had taken her the best part of an hour to find what she had been looking for and ever since finding it she had just simply stared at what she had found. Now she had found it, she didn't have a clue what to do with it.

"Oi, Rukia!" she heard a familiar voice call from behind her and panic flooded through her.

"Ichigo!" she exclaimed as she turned around and faced the orange haired man, her heart once again beating faster as he approached her.

"Kinda crazy tonight, huh?" he replied awkwardly as his hand ran through his hair, a gesture Rukia knew that Ichigo only did when he was nervous.

Earlier tonight when they had first met she had noticed this... tension between them that had never existed before. She didn't know what it was or why it was suddenly there, but her hands had felt sweaty, her heart had beat faster, and her breathing had increased, and now that Ichigo was in front of her again the same tension was building again and she was experiencing the same physical reactions. His warm brown eyes burned into hers and she found herself at a loss for words. What was happening to her? Did not seeing him for 20 years really have this effect on her? She continued to stare into his eyes, and although his eyes swirled with emotions, the one she was hoping to see wasn't there.

"Ichigo..." she began again, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, suddenly noticing Rukia's wide eyes rimmed with tears and the slightly panicked look on her face. He'd never seen that look on her face and it worried him somewhat "I haven't changed that much have I?" he asked with a rueful grin.

Rukia stood frozen to the spot, no amount of training could have prepared her for this situation and she didn't know what to do. The longer she stared into his face, the more flushed it became with anger. This had not been how she had envisioned that first meeting going. Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out. When she didn't respond after almost a minute Ichigo's grin turned into an angry scowl.

"You don't want to talk after almost 20 years? Fine! But please can you help me find my body so that I can get back into it?" he snapped as he went to move past her.

"Ichigo wait!" she exclaimed stepping in front of him to try and block him from the site behind her. Alas her 4 foot 8 inch stature was nothing compared to Ichigo's 6ft+ physique and he easier looked over her head to what was behind her. She closed her eyes before slowly opening them and looking up at Ichigo hesitantly. His mouth hung open slightly and his face had paled significantly.

"I...I'm sorry Ichigo" she said remorsefully.

Ichigo stayed at the body that was in front of him - his body. He looked quite peaceful in all actuality, like he was sleeping. Except he knew that he wasn't by the large piece of metal that had pretty much cut his body in two at the waist. Strangely though, there wasn't much blood or gore, just a body practically severed in two.

"I'm...dead?" he whispered.

"I'm so sorry Ichigo" Rukia spoke softly beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder in an effort to offer him some comfort "There were no survivors - including you."

"You found it?" came a grave voice behind them.

Rukia nodded as Ikkaku approached them "You figured it out?" she asked her co-mission leader sombrely.

Ikkaku nodded. "Before he came down here we were talking and I thought there was something different about him. Then I remembered he said earlier that he was on the train and you reported there were no survivors so..." he left the sentence drift off.

Both soul reapers stared at the substitute as he stared in disbelief at his own body.

"NO! This can't be happening!" Ichigo exclaimed suddenly "Yuzu's in labour! I'm going to have a new niece or nephew, I need to get to my family, they need me. I can't die! Not now, not tonight!" he yelled as he tried to get back into his body.

Both Rukia and Ikkaku grabbed Ichigo's arms as they tried to restrain him.

"Ichigo! It's no use. Your body is gone, you can't get back inside!" Rukia exclaimed as gently as she could.

"NO!" Ichigo cried again and lunged for his body.

"Look down man!" Ikkaku yelled beside him causing Ichigo to turn his angry stare on him.

"Is that a joke!" he yelled at Ikkaku as he jerked his arm out of Rukia's strong grip and grabbed a fist full of Ikkaku uniform "Don't you think I can see what's down there?! It's me! Or what used to be me!"

"Ichigo" came a soft calm voice beside him, and once again he felt Rukia's hand on his shoulder which calmed him immediately. "He didn't mean to look at _you,_ he meant look at your uniform"

Ichigo immediately dropped Ikkaku and looked down at his uniform to see what Rukia was talking about. "My strap? It's gone!" he exclaimed in confusion.

"Exactly Ichigo. You're no longer a substitute soul reaper, like it or not, tonight you became a full soul reaper" Rukia informed him gently yet forcefully.

Ichigo gulped as the realisation hit him: he was dead.

He barely had time to process the fact before his brain went into overdrive. Would Yuzu be ok? Would Karin still be able to go on her football tour? Who would control his father if he wasn't there? If he was a fully fledged soul reaper would he be living in the Soul Society full time? Did that mean he'd be allocated to a division? Would he get to live in the Seireitei?

"Do...do you need to perform a konso?" he whispered.

Rukia and Ikkaku looked at each other. Truth was, Ichigo was currently their only substitute soul reaper and no one had ever considered what would happen when he died, Soul Society assuming they would have a good few decades to figure it out. He'd survived so much that it seemed inconceivable that something in the human world would kill him. Soul Society had not considered such natural phenomenon as earthquakes and human disasters like train crashes as something that would kill the all powerful Ichigo Kurosaki, yet that's exactly what had happened.

"I...I don't know" Rukia replied softly "This is kind of unchartered territory" she admitted honestly.

The trio stood in silence taking in the scene around them, no one quite sure what to do. As if from nowhere a hell butterfly appeared and both Rukia's and Ikkaku's brow crumpled as the butterfly floated between them. It was highly unusual for a hell butterfly to come to the human world, in fact, neither could remember the situation happening before. If it happened at all it was only when a Captain was present in the human world, certainly not a Lieutenant and a Third Seat. It was only then that both Ikkaku and Rukia realised Ichigo had never received a hell butterfly before.

"Ichigo" Rukia prompted softly startling Ichigo and causing him to look at her "It's for you" she said as she nodded toward the dark creature.

Ichigo brow crinkled in concentration as he realised that for the first time in his life, well his new permanent soul reaper life, he could actually hear the hell butterfly calling his name. Hesitantly he raised his finger up and the tiny creature landed. Ichigo's eyes widened as he received the message and he realised that tonight was going to be a long night...

* * *

_So human Ichigo is dead and Rukia and Ichigo have met again. Hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think. _

_NB: There might not be an update next week as not only is it my Nan's birthday, but my Dad informed me today that he is coming next weekend to decorate my bathroom and help me assemble some furniture so I might not have time to write/edit/post depending on the state of my flat. (Before you all think I'm completely spoilt, my Dad used to be a paint sprayer and considers paint rollers the devil incarnate to the paint industry and apparently I don't paint correctly with a brush so it's easier if I let him do it...)_


	4. Chapter 4

_As promised, I'm back from my two week break with a nice newly painted and furnished bathroom! _

_Thank you for all the reviews, favourites, and people who have alerted the story, I am very flattered and grateful. Life if a bit manic right now so apologies if I don't get to respond to each review, but please keep them coming as they really motivate me to write. (Should be back to the weekly updates from today)._

_Hope you enjoy the next chapter. _

_**Disclaimer: **The only bleach I own right now is the one in my bathroom, nothing to do with manga, anime (because I'm sure this disclaimer has never been used before...) _

* * *

"You ok?" Rukia asked Ichigo tentatively, noticing how his brow had creased following his hell butterfly. In all the years she had known Ichigo she had never since him look so dejected, yet serious at the same time.

"Yamamoto wants to see me" Ichigo replied in a flat tone, his head bowed.

"Oh" she replied, not knowing what else to say. No doubt news had arrived in Soul Society that Ichigo had died and she wondered what reception they would get when they returned. As if the Kido Corps had read her mind the senkaimon appeared in front of the trio.

"We'd better get going " Ikkaku stated in a serious tone as he nodded towards the senkaimon.

"Hai" Ichigo replied in the same dead tone, yet he made no move to turn away from his dead body.

"Ichigo, man, I'm sorry" Ikkaku replied solemnly "I remember your family and they seemed really nice. They don't deserve to lose you this way" Ikkaku continued in an unusual show of emotion.

"Thanks, I guess" Ichigo replied with a shrug.

Twenty years ago Rukia would have kicked Ichigo in the shin and told him not to be as stupid as to wallow in his own depressiveness, especially when Captain Yamamoto himself had requested a meeting with him however, given the circumstances that just didn't seem right and she didn't know what to do. For the first time she could recall she felt awkward around Ichigo.

"It's going to be ok, Ichigo" she tried to comfort him, but her words sounded hollow in her own ears. Truth was, she didn't know what would happen to Ichigo. Would Central 46 want some sort of konso performed on his soul? Would he forget everything that he had experienced and learnt since he was 15 and end up living in the Rukongai? Surely Central 46 wouldn't put Ichigo in the Rukongai after everything he had done for Soul Society? More importantly, could Soul Society afford to lose someone of his talent?

"Yeah, right" he replied with a hint of sarcasm. It was only then that he glanced her way and she swallowed hard when she saw the tears than brimmed his eyes. She had only ever seen him cry once, and that 20 years ago when Ginjou had stolen his powers. Back then Ichigo had seemed angry, frustrated, and well, heart broken. She didn't remember dying so couldn't relate what Ichigo was going through now, but she supposed it was only right for him to grieve for the people he would no longer see, as much as they would grieve for Ichigo. She remembered the pain and turmoil she felt when she'd lost the "brothers" her and Renji had grown up with, and even thinking about Kaien now was painful, and if that was what Ichigo was going through she could understand why those tears brimmed his eyes.

"Ichi..." she began, not really knowing what to say and part of her was relieved when he cut her off abruptly.

"We better get going" Ichigo stated bluntly as he suddenly turned away from his body and headed into the senkaimon without another word.

Rukia and Ikkaku threw a troubled look at each other before sprinting after Ichigo into the Senkaimon, and both were surprised at just how far ahead of them he already was. It was like he was punishing himself for dying by pushing his body to the limit as he sprinted away from the human world towards Soul Society and no matter how fast they ran, neither Ikkaku or herself could catch up Ichigo. She tried calling out to him to get him to stop, but to no avail and anger started to boil inside her stomach as Ichigo refused to follow her command. He may be the saviour of Soul Society, but right now both she and Ikkaku outranked him and his refusal to stop was a blatant disrespect for the laws of the Gotei 13. She sighed internally when she realised that she was probably going to have to write Ichigo up for disrespecting orders as he was now a fully fledged soul reaper, and the shock of his death aside, he needed to learn that he could no longer do as he pleased. She had a feeling tonight was going to be a long night.

Finally Rukia and Ikkaku exited the senkaimon into Soul Society and both were surprised to see how heavily guarded the gate was by the Kido Corps. Rukia didn't know what time it was, but the moon was high in the sky and darkness enveloped them. There would be few people about to warrant this level of security and the security measures just seemed unnecessary for only a Lieutenant and 3rd Seat returning from the human world, even if Ichigo was accompanying them. However, that was not the most surprising thing about their return.

"Captain?" she greeted her superior with surprise. It was highly unusual for her Captain, any Captain for that matter, to greet their subordinates upon returning from a mission, and Ichigo's hell butterfly had stated that Captain Yamamoto had wanted to see Ichigo so she had expected they would be greeted by someone from Squad 1, not her division.

"Hello Rukia, Ikkaku, Ichigo. Did the mission go well?" Captain Ukitake greeted the trio with a kind, welcoming smile.

"Hai" Rukia and Ikkaku replied in unison.

"Fantastic" Ichigo replied sarcastically.

Something snapped inside Rukia as she heard Ichigo sarcastic response to her Captain. Yet again Ichigo had been rude, and traumatic night or not, manners cost nothing. Captain Ukitake did not deserve that tone, in fact he was going above his call of duty in welcoming them back to Soul Society this late at night.

"Show some respect! He's your superior officer!" Rukia growled as she turned towards Ichigo and stamped on his foot. Ok, so may stamping on his foot was a little harsh considering he had just died, but being a Kuchiki meant that manners and respect could not be ignored no matter what the situation.

"Why you little..." Ichigo growled, his teeth grinding together and his fisted clenched at his sides as he stared down at her.

"Good" came Captain Ukitake's kind voice effectively ending the disagreement between the two.

Rukia's cheeks flushed as she realised she had just been caught bickering with Ichigo in from of her superior officer. "Captain, I am so sorry. My behaviour..." she began as she bowed down to her superior in an effort to apologise.

"It's ok Rukia" he replied kindly, and as she righted herself from her bow she swore she could see a small knowing smile on her Captain's face.

Captain Ukitake turned to Ikkaku with a business look on his face "Third seat Madarame, I trust that you will debrief your men over at Squad 9?"

"Hai, Captain" Ikkaku replied dutifully.

Captain Ukitake's brow creased and he frowned as he spoke "And I can assume you will not let news of Ichigo's permanent arrival become common knowledge?"

"Hai, Captain" Ikkaku replied, slightly confused by the request. He briefly shot a look at Rukia but noticed she looked equally perplexed.

"And Rukia, I understand that you have already de-briefed the Squad 13 members?" he asked her seriously.

"Hai, Captain" she replied "And they don't know about Ichigo either" she added as an afterthought.

"Good" Captain Ukitake replied seriously, not shedding any light as to why Ichigo's appearance in Soul Society needed to remain a secret.

Captain Ukitake turned to Ichigo with a serious look on his face. "Captain Yamamoto has asked me to accompany you to Division One as I am your superior officer", the statement causing Ichigo to look up in surprise. Captain Ukitake smiled reassuringly at the young man and lightened his tone as he tried to reassure him "It's common practice for a Captain to accompany a soul reaper when their presence is requested in from of the Head Captain. It seems you have given us all quite a surprise"

"You're surprised" Ichigo answered lowly and Rukia scowled up at him once again, although Captain Ukitake seemed to let the comment slide.

"Lieutenant Kuchiki, Third Seat Madarame, you are dismissed" Captain Ukitake instructed them in an authorative tone.

"Hai" they both replied in unison before shunpoeing off to their respective barracks.

"Ichigo" Captain Ukitake began "It's good to see you again despite the circumstances. Shall we..." he continued as he moved his hands in the general direction of Division One.

"Guess I don't have a choice now, do I?" Ichigo replied in an emotionless tone and just like that he started to shunpo towards the Division One barracks.

Captain Ukitake sighed and shook his head as he shunpoed after the young man, easily catching up with him. Ichigo Kurosaki may no longer be the teenage boy that he once was, but it looked like he still had his sharp tongue and disrespect for authority and he just hoped he could keep that in check during his meeting with Captain Yamamoto. Otherwise he feared the Head Captain may just send the young man to the outskirts of the Rukongai, regardless of the fact that he had saved Soul Society and was one of the most talented soul reapers they had ever seen. Yes, tonight was going to be a long night indeed...

* * *

_Ok, so I admit this chapter might seem a bit pointless, but I was trying to show how Rukia and Ichigo had changed during their time apart, but how they still had the same chemistry. I'm not sure I quite pulled it off though. And I know Rukia might seem a bit harsh for contemplating writing up Ichigo for disrespecting her order to shop, but she is a Kuchiki and we all know how much Byakuya loves laws! I figured that respect for rules and the law would be reflected in how she conducts her business as a Lieutenant, although to a lesser scale than Byakuya._

_Until next week... _


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks for the reviews and I see that a few of you are concerned/curious as to why Ichigo and Rukia have been acting the way they have been. Hopefully this chapter and the next one will explain things a bit more and make everything a bit clearer (fingers crossed anyway!)._

_Oh! And there is some bad language in this chapter. Nothing worse than what I had heard by the time I was 13, but then again my school wasn't the greatest..._

**_Disclaimer:_**_ If I owned Bleach, would I be writing a story on Fanfiction?_

* * *

Bullshit.

That was the only word that Ichigo could think of right now. Everything was just...bullshit.

He'd been a permanent resident of Soul Society for a little over 2 hours and already he was fed up with the bureaucracy. He wasn't stupid, as a mature adult and one that had held a position of reasonable responsibility when he had been alive he understood the need for paperwork, meetings and whatever other crap his boss' had thrown his way - after all it wasn't like the murders he caught as a Homicide Inspector could be sent to jail unless he provided decent reports and stout evidence and he had even developed a tolerance and patience towards it - but right now all this was quite frankly bullshit.

The first hour and a half he had spent in a private meeting with just Captain Yamamoto, Captain Ukitake and himself and he had been told in no uncertain terms that just because he had saved Soul Society, had the spiritual pressure of a Captain and the benefit of being a Visored as well as possessing Fullbringer's powers, those traits did not automatically give him the right to his own Squad. No current Captain would be demoted just because of his arrival. He'd tried to argue that becoming a Captain was not top of his priorities right now, after all he had just died and that fact alone was screwing with his head right now (although in the future he aspired to be a Captain), but "Gramps" just wouldn't let him speak. Credit where it was due, Captain Ukitake had really stood up for him against the old man and he had an all new respect for Captain Ukitake.

The next thing they had argued about was his one and only request. All he wanted was one simple pass to go through the senkaimon to let his family know he was ok. It was killing him knowing how upset Yuzu must be after she found out he had died, and although he knew his father was more than familiar with Soul Society and he was pretty sure that Karin had figured out where he often disappeared to over the years, Yuzu had remained blissfully innocent. He knew that she wouldn't be able to see or hear him if he went back (because he was pretty sure Urahara had not created a gigai for him in the past 2 hours), but she could sense him and he could use his old man or Karin (whether she liked it or not) to get a message to Yuzu and comfort her. This had been his one simple request, but Yamamoto, and surprisingly Ukitake, had both forbade it. Something about not confusing people in the living world and letting himself and his family have time to grieve and accept what had happened to him, but he didn't need time. He knew what had happened. He was dead. His human life was over.

Looking back he should have just shunpoed straight to his family as soon as he had found his body, it's not like he wouldn't have been able to lose Rukia or Ikkaku on the way. Over the past 20 years he become pretty adept at hiding his spiritual pressure so he could have easily kept his location a secret, it's just that finding his body like that had been a shock and for the first time in a long time he had been stumped. Sure, being a Homicide Police Inspector for the MPD meant he saw a lot of dead bodies, but seeing his own? That had been something he had not been prepared for and it was almost as if his brain had ceased operating along with his body for a while.

He'd always assumed he'd die an old man. A very old man. After all, there was still so much in his life that he wanted to do! There was the Superintendant's exam next month that he was going to ace. He was then going to step into his current Superintendant's job in 2 months time when he retired, and at some point in the future he would find a wife and have a family. Then maybe a few years later he would have move back to Karakura to be close to his family so that his kids could have grown up close to Yuzu's. When he retired he'd planned to travel the world and his dream was to visit England and the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Dying at 37 was not part of the plan! He was supposed to die when his obnoxious orange hair had turned white surrounded by his own family, not on some train wreck in the middle of nowhere surrounded by a bunch of strangers!

But now that was all over. In a split second he was dead and a permanent soul reaper in Soul Society. Kami he didn't even remember dying! The last thing he remembered was being on the train as it started to shake. Did his brain even acknowledge the pain his body must have felt as it was cut in two, or was it so sudden and violent that his soul was literally thrown from his body?

Kami, this was all just...bullshit!

Now he was stuck in this stupid Captains meeting, that Yamamoto had decided to call after their private meeting, listening to everyone as they discussed what was going to happen with his life - well, afterlife. It seemed that he was going to have no say in what was going to happen to him now that he was a permanent resident of Soul Society, and normally that would have pissed him off, but right now he just didn't care. Maybe he was still in shock over dying? Maybe it was because he was already pissed that he couldn't see Yuzu or his family? He had no idea what had come over him, everything just seemed so surreal right now.

Come to think of it, did he even want to be a member of the Gotei 13 anymore? It seems like everyone had assumed that he wanted to continue fighting, but did he want to do that until he was killed/died in Soul Society and reincarnated? Part of him was so tired of fighting hollows, and although he loved the feeling of setting a soul and a hollow free, did he want to do that for the rest of time? He had to admit there was something quite appealing about not being able to remember his past and everything that he had been through. He could start a fresh in the Rukongai and just have a _normal_ life for the first time in over 20 years.

But who was he kidding? Being a soul reaper was in his blood - quite literally given who his father was. When he'd lost his powers after Aizen he'd survived less than a year before the Fullbringers took an interest in him and it hadn't taken long for him to be interested in what they had to offer when they told him he could get some form of power back. An even shorter period of time had passed before he acquired his Fullbringer's powers and he'd felt somewhat "whole" once again. As appealing as anonymity sounded, he knew that he wouldn't be able to turn his back on the Gotei 13 or the innocent souls who needed his protection, it would go against everything he believed in, everything that he was.

So his future was in the Gotei 13 whether the current Captains liked it or not.

Sighing internally he took a deep breath to try and calm himself from the rising frustration he felt. Presently he stood slightly behind Yamamoto and to his side with his head bowed down out of respect and he felt like a complete idiot. He'd long ago tuned out what the others were saying, but from the snippets he had caught some of the Captains thought a konso should be performed on him, others argued that he was too much of an asset to Soul Society to risk losing him in the Rukongai; some wanted him to attend the Spiritual Arts Academy, others thought it was an insult; there was yet to be a decision on which Division he would joint, whether he should get a seated position, whether he should be given his own quarters...It was all just white noise now and he had tuned it all out. Not for the first time this evening he thought that everything was, quite frankly, bullshit.

As his mind wondered over the events of the evening and he tried to process everything that had happened to him a face popped into his head:

Rukia.

When he had first seen her at the crash site she had taken his breath away. As a teenager he had always known she was attractive, but now she was stunning and time had done nothing but favours for her. Even in the carnage of the crash site she had looked beautiful from her long hair and choppy layers framing the pale skin of her face, to her petite frame and indigo eyes. The way she carried herself had also changed and she now carried herself with an air of authority that made her seem more mature, no doubt brought about by her 20 years as a lieutenant. She seemed more confident and almost..lighter, yet he could see heaviness and weariness in her eyes and that worried him. He hoped that Byakuya was treating her well, because now that he was a permanent soul reaper he would have no problem in kicking his ass if needed. Slowly he raised his eyes a little and stared in the direction of the stoic noble - yep, he could still take him and his bankai out if needed.

His thoughts returning to Rukia and their first meeting earlier on tonight, he realised that he had broken every rule of battle by going over to her when he had first caught a glimpse of her, but he literally hadn't been able to stop himself. It was like he was drawn to her like a moth was drawn to a flame. And then there had been that weird...tension...between them that had never been there before and he had never experienced anything like it in his life, human or otherwise. Everything around them had seemed to drift away and for a split second it was just him and Rukia in their own little world. But then that hollow had tried to attack them and they had had to go their separate ways until he had seen her again hours later by his body.

Things had been a little more normal between them then, although he could barely recall what was said. After the initial anger, sadness, and disbelief over seeing his dead body he'd felt so numb and it had seemed to him like an eternity had passed before his brain had slowly started piecing things together. He knew though that she had tried to comfort him as best she could in her own Rukia way, he was just lucky that she hadn't tried to draw something bunny related for him to explain what was going on. Truth was, he didn't want comforting. With all the death he had been around in his life he didn't need empty words, what he needed was...damn! Even he didn't know what he needed, but empty words were not one of them.

But then she had scolded him when she had gotten out of the Senkaimon. That's right! She had scolded him and stamped on his foot for maybe being _slightly _sarcastic when his human life had just ended. What had she been going on about again...respect? Damn it! He had just died! Couldn't she cut him just a little slack?

Suddenly something inside Ichigo snapped. He was done with all this bullshit bureaucracy, he was done with other people deciding what was going to happen to him, and he was done with being in the meeting. It was a good thing that it was peace time in the Seirentei and he didn't have his zanpaktou with him otherwise he feared the Captains of the Gotei 13 would no longer be alive and Central 46 would have had no choice but to send him down to be Aizen's cellmate for the rest of time.

"Screw this!" Ichigo stated plain and simple causing all 13 Captains of the Gotei 13 to stare up at him and whoever had been speaking about _his_ fate to stop talking. Shocked silence filled the room at his outburst and he met Yamamoto's stern gaze head on, but before the Head Captain could utter another word Ichigo shunpoed out of the meeting leaving the leaders of the Gotei 13 in shock.

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_Thoughts, praise and constructive criticism all gratefully received! _

_PS: Thanks too to all those who alerted and/or favourited this story last week. As always it is much appreciated. _


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks to all who reviewed, favourited or alerted last week. Someone did point out that I got Ichigo's age wrong and this was a typo on my part, apologies. _

_Here is the next chapter and I should warn you that a) things do heat up in this chapter, and b) it is very long! _

**_Disclaimer: _**_D__on't own Bleach. _

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Rukia sighed in frustration for the umpteenth time this evening. Over three hours had passed since Ichigo, Ikkaku and herself had returned to Soul Society and Ichigo had been summoned to his meeting with Head Captain Yamamoto, and it had been over an hour and a half since the emergency Captains Meeting had been called. She was just thankful that Squad 1 had had the sense to summon the Captains to the emergency meeting using the hell butterflies, rather than beating the drum like they usually did. She had no idea why they were trying to keep Ichigo's passing a secret but she assumed Head Captain Yamamoto and Captain Ukitake had their reasons, although she doubted Ichigo dying would remain a secret for long. What were they going to do? Seal his spiritual pressure? Renji, Nanao and Rangiku had already stopped by her quarters to see if she knew why the meeting had been called, and as ordered, she had not told them what she knew. Ichigo had hidden his spiritual pressure ever since arriving in Soul Society so it wasn't like the others would be able to detect it and guess what was going on.

Now it was past midnight and try as she might she could not rest. Since returning from tonight's mission she had bathed to rid herself of the smoke and dirt that stained her skin and hair as a result of the mission, tried (unsuccessfully) to complete her mission reports, cleaned her quarters twice, and had tried meditating with Sode No Shirayuki as she was just so close to achieving bankai, all to no avail. Now she was kneeling at her small table in her favourite Chappy pyjamas (a treat to herself seeing as she wasn't staying at the Kuchiki estate tonight) drinking tea hoping that its warmth would soothe her. She just felt so uneasy and restless, almost to the point of agitation, and it was all Ichigo's fault. Seeeing him again after all this time had unsettled her.

Upon her first sight of him he had quite literally taken her breath away and an unexpected warmth had flooded through her - a warmth that she had only experienced before when Kaien was alive. But unlike with Kaien, that warmth had grown until it had sparked and she felt like there had been an electrical current flowing between the two of them, and it had been scary, yet exhilarating at the same time. She wondered if he felt it too as they had both done something unspeakable tonight, they had both abandoned their duty in the middle of battle solely for the purpose of speaking to one another. After all the training and help her nii-sama and her Captain had given her to become the Lieutenant she was today, she had abandoned her post as soon as she had seen Ichigo again. She felt ashamed of her behaviour and she felt like she had let her Division down. She was supposed to be strong, a leader, a role model, but one look at the orange haired soul reaper had her abandoning all her duties like a school girl with a crush. Thank goodness that hollow had started to attack and broken whatever spell she had been under meaning she had managed to regain her dignity for the remainder of the mission.

But after all the konsols had been performed and she had found his body the realisation hit her that Ichigo's human life had ended. Sorrow had overwhelmed her, but she also felt disbelief and angry. How could something like this have happened? He wasn't supposed to be in Soul Society yet! But when she had seen his reaction, those tears in his eyes, it was just so unlike him that it scared her. Ichigo didn't get quiet, he got angry, explosive even, but he just seemed so...empty. Their relationship had always been tumultuous, but there had always been respect and they had always been able to talk about anything - it was their openness that she had missed the most in the time he had been gone. But tonight he had closed up on her, abandoned her, ignored her, just like Renji had when she had been adopted by the Kuchiki's. It had made her so angry and frustrated, and then he had disrespected Captain Ukitake, one of the most respected and well liked captains in the Gotei 13, and it had been the final straw. She had exploded at him and stamped on his foot just like before in the hope that it would reawaken his spirit once again, even though it had meant embarrassing herself in front of her Captain and the Kido Corps. It had worked to a certain extent as he had turned to her all annoyed just like he used to before Captain Ukitake had broken them up.

Finishing her tea, she sighed as she got up to clear her table. Maybe it had been wrong of her to do that after his human life had ended so suddenly, but now that she had had time to think about everything that had happened tonight she could see that her actions had been a reaction to the hurt she had felt over his rejection of her. If she ever had the chance to see him again, _maybe_ she should consider apologising to him. She had already decided not to write him up for disrespecting her orders as it would be petty of her to do so after the events of the evening.

Suddenly a loud bang was emitted from her door and her brow crinkled as she realised that whoever was on the other side of the door was with holding their reiatsu. Peering through the peep hole her eyes opened wide in surprise when she realised who was the other side of the wooden door just as the visitor banged at her door again. Slowly she started to open the door before it was violent pushed open, the force causing her to stumble backwards, and then slammed shut by her orange haired visitor.

"Ichigo! What are you doing here? You know no one is supposed to know about your return?" she exclaimed angrily, although deep down she was concerned that he was here before her Captain her returned from his meeting.

Ichigo couldn't help but glare at the petite shinigami in front of him angrily. "Is that all you care about? Keeping my death a secret? Following orders? Do you even know what I've been through this evening?" he yelled at the shocked woman in front of him.

Rukia stared at Ichigo in shock and disbelief. "No I..." she began before she was rudely cut off.

"Exactly no!" Ichigo continued. "In case you didn't realise I'm the one who has been sat in those crappy meetings for gods knows how long! Do you know what it's like to have to stand and listen to everyone go on about your life as if you're not even there? To not be granted the _one_ _thing_ you want, huh? And you...you going on about respect when I have just died!"

"Ichigo..." she tried again.

"No! Don't Ichigo me! I'm not a stupid kid anymore, I'm an adult and I don't need to be lectured about respect. Damn it!" he yelled as he paced around her small living room breathing heavily.

Rukia looked at Ichigo in shock. NEVER had he yelled at her like this, hell, she hadn't seen him yell at anyone like this, and all because she stamped on his foot? This was ridiculous!

"You were being rude and disrespectful to my Captain..." she argued back as the anger she had felt earlier started to boil in her veins once again.

"Respect! Respect! You want to talk about respect? In the real world I had respect. I was a Homicide Inspector, a damn good one too, for Kami's sake! Do you know how many people's souls I've saved? How many murderers I put away? How many people's families I informed of their deaths? Huh? Compassion is all I ask for, a minute or two to figure out what's happened to me, but as soon as I die people are giving me a hard time - YOU start lecturing ME about respect , I'm pulled into a private meetings to discuss my future, to be accused of things I haven't even thought about let alone done, and then I have to stand and listen to them talk about me as if I'm not even there..." Ichigo yelled before stopping to take a breath, his chest heaving.

The anger inside Rukia bubbled "Damn it Ichigo! If you're going to be living here permanently now you have to learn to have respect. You can't just swan in and out of Soul Society as you please. You're going to have to learn to obey orders..." she yelled back angrily.

"Obey orders? Why the hell should I obey orders when they don't give me what I want?" he turned and glared at her and the emotions in his eyes took her breath away. She saw anger, frustration, pain, confusion, but above all else she saw guilt.

"It doesn't work like that baka! You can't hold Soul Society to ransom every time you want to do something that they don't approve of! Soul Society was here long before you were even born Ichigo and its worked perfectly fine for thousands of years and you should remember that" she yelled angrily. "What was it that you even wanted?" she added almost as an afterthought.

The guilt in Ichigo's eyes intensified and she was sure that she saw his tense shoulders droop slightly at her question. "Yuzu went into labour today that's why I was on that stupid train to Karakura" he stated quietly "I need to get back to the human world if only for tonight. I have to look after my nephew and nieces as Karin is going on an European football tour and my Dad is driving everyone crazy. I just need to see Yuzu, to let her know I'm ok and not to worry, but they won't open the senkaimon..."

Rukia stared at the man in front of her and she could swear she felt her heart break a little at the pain and guilt she saw in his eyes and her anger disappeared. She knew Ichigo, she knew how much he cared for his friends and family and how protective of them he was. To not be able to go and see his family right now must be difficult for him, but she thought she understood the reasons why the Captain Commander would not let him go. Slowly she walked towards him until she was stood in front him, his eyes following her the entire time and she felt that current from early on this evening slowly start to rekindle again. She wanted to comfort him somehow, but she didn't know how. Suddenly a memory of Byakuya caressing her forehead when they had both been recovering at the Kuchiki estate after her almost execution over 20 years ago popped into her head and she remembered her reassured she had felt. Hesitantly she raised her hand to his check and cupped it gently, surprised at the feeling of his rough stubble on her hand and how his skin burned against hers.

"I'm sorry Ichigo, for everything. For the way I acted tonight, for the fact you can't see your family, that you won't get to meet you new niece or nephew straight away. I truly am sorry" she stated softly, her voice full of compassion. "But I think the Captains are right not to let you go. Both you and your family need time to adjust to this situation and don't you think it would scare and confuse Yuzu and Karin, not to mention your nephew and nieces, to be told their uncle is dead only to see his ghost or you in a gigai?"

Ichigo swallowed deeply as he watched Rukia come towards him, that strange pull he had felt earlier this evening when he had first seen her returning. He was taken aback when Rukia reached up and tenderly held the side of his face as she had never been a touchy feely type person, but as soon as her hand touched his skin he felt a soothing warm sensation flood over him and his anger and frustration seemed to fade away. He listened to what she had to say and deep down he knew she was right. Daitaro, Aimi and Nene would be scared to see him in a gigai and he loved his nephew and nieces too much to put them through that. He had to trust that his Dad and Karin could comfort everyone and hold the family together, because as much as he hated to admit it, there was nothing he could do right now and they all needed time to adjust to the situation, himself included. Whatever the Captains had in store for him was going to take time to get used to and Rukia was right when she said they all needed time.

But Rukia's actions surprised him. He had never seen this side of her before and he didn't think he'd ever heard her apologise, her brother no doubt instilling the Kuchiki pride in her ever since she had been adopted. He felt his heart beat a little faster at the concern he saw in her eyes and the way her skin felt against his. Staring at her now he could see the specks of violent in her otherwise indigo coloured eyes and the way the light bounced of her long hair was mesmerising. He was dumbfounded by the fact that he had never realised before just how beautiful she was and he swallowed thickly as he felt a certain part of himself stir excitedly. Suddenly he knew what he needed tonight.

Slowly he raised his hand up and brushed the stubborn streak of ebony hair from the centre of her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. He was surprised to find just how soft and silky her hair was. He continued to brush his fingers through her hair, loving the way the strands felt between his finger tips, until his hand reached her neck and he slowly clasped it in his hand, all the time looking directly into her eyes.

"Ichi.." she started to whisper, but never got to finish.

"Shhhh Rukia" he whispered softly as he lowered his head towards hers, his breath gently gliding over the skin of her face causing her to shudder slightly. He could feel her skin heat between his fingertips, the constriction of her neck muscles as she swallowed, and he could see the confusion in her eyes "For once Rukia don't think, just feel" he whispered before he leant the final few centimetres and brushed his lips against hers.

Rukia didn't know what was happening. One minute they had been shouting at each other, the next Ichigo had looked so dejected, so vulnerable, that she had wanted to do anything to get him to stop looking like that. The electric pull she had been feeling since Ichigo barged his way into her quarters intensified and then Ichigo was pulling her face towards him, his lips were coming down towards her and then...

Kami! This is what kissing felt like? Electricity was shooting through her and her body felt like it was on fire. At their own accord her eyes flickered close and her arms reached up and around Ichigo's neck to pull him closer to her, suddenly not being able to get close enough to him. Was this what desire felt like? She gasped into the kiss as she felt Ichigo's mouth open and his tongue run across her lips. Instinctively she opened her mouth and was overcome by the sensation of having someone else's tongue play with her own. It wasn't like she had imagined it to be, it was...sensual, exciting and it made her stomach quiver.

Ichigo growled into the kiss as he felt Rukia's mouth open under his. He felt her hesitancy as he first joined his tongue with hers, but only seconds later she was fighting back with her tongue and it made the desire currently flowing through Ichigo's veins only burn hotter. Never, and he meant never, had he experienced anything like this. They had barely begun and already he just wanted to rip off her pyjamas, throw her onto the floor of her living room and have his way with her. Wave after wave of red hot desire washed over him and his abdomen was already clenching hard in anticipation. The hand that was resting on her neck weaved itself into her hair and the other grabbed her hip roughly as he slowly pushed her backwards until he felt her hit the wall behind her.

Rukia shuddered as Ichigo's hand grabbed her hip and she felt herself moving backwards, moaning as her back hit the wall and Ichigo's hard body was pushed even closer to hers. She felt her nipples tighten and her skin flushed as she felt a wet sensation down below. Her legs shook like jelly and only seconds later she felt Ichigo's hands skim down her side and grab her thighs, her skin feeling like it was on fire wherever Ichigo touched. Suddenly Ichigo's grip on her thighs tightened and she was lifted upwards so her face was level with his. Instinctively one arm tightened around his shoulders whilst the other snaked up into his hair and started to massage his scalp, the move causing Ichigo to moan in pleasure and the her heart beat faster than it already was at the sound.

Ichigo felt like he was in heaven as he lifted Rukia up and pressed his hips against hers, effectively trapping her against the wall of her quarters. Never had the passion built so quickly in him before and he needed more. He needed to be buried deep inside her, he needed the release that mindless sex brought, he needed to forget everything that had happened this evening if only for a few wondrous minutes, he just...he just needed her like he had never needed anybody in his life. He didn't know what had come over him, this passion, this desire, it was almost primal. Feelings that he did not want to identify, let alone deal with, rushed over him and his body hummed in anticipation. Wanting to be even closer to Rukia he slowly slid one of his hands up and underneath her pyjama top and groaned deeply as his finger tips first made contact with her soft subtle skin. His hand continued its journey upwards until his hand surrounded the small by defined mound of flesh that formed her breast and his thumb smoothed over the hard nipple.

Rukia couldn't comprehend what was happening to her. She had never imagined kissing someone would feel like this. She felt lost in a whirlwind of heat and electricity that scared, yet excited her at the same time. Everything was so new, so raw, and she could barely control the feelings she was experiencing - hell she wasn't even sure what half of them were! Suddenly she felt something hard grind in between her thighs and her eyes flew open. Was that...? Kami, what was she doing? Panic started to build within her, but she barely had time to comprehend what was going on before she felt Ichigo's hand skim over her thigh and continue its journey upwards. Where was his hand going? Rukia tore her head away from Ichigo's as she felt his hand gently squeezing her breast. Kami that felt good! But this was all moving so fast, too fast! It was too much.

"Ichigo!" she gasped, but much to her chargrin even to her own ears her voice sounded full of desire.

Ichigo's lips felt bereft as Rukia's tore her mouth away from his. They felt cold and abandoned and he knew he needed to feel and taste her again with his lips as soon as possible. Seconds later he heard her gasp his name and yet another jolt of electricity shot straight to his groin hardening him further if that was even possible. His hand continued to knead her small breast but he moved his lips to Rukia's neck and started to nip and suck gently, marking her as his own.

"Ichigo, please!" she tried again, but her voice still sounded just as breathless and pleading, no doubt caused by the sensations his mouth was currently causing on her neck. This had to end! She had already let this, whatever it was, go too far as it was.

"Ichigo! Please...please stop" she pleaded, her head lolling backwards and her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she felt Ichigo grind his hips against her centre causing a wave of pleasure unlike anything she had ever experienced before to wash over her.

Ichigo looked up from Rukia's delicious neck at her request and looked at her face. Beautifully desirable was the only way he could describe her. Her skin was flushed a cherry red and her mouth hung open panting as she rested her head back against the wall, and her eyes were a bright violet. Slowly she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. He could see desire and passion burning brightly, but if he was not mistaken he could also see fear and uncertainty deep within those now dark violet orbs.

"Please Rukia" he whispered brokenly to her and only a deaf person would have missed the pleading and desperate need in his voice. Not giving her a chance to argue back he captured her lips once again in a scintillating kiss as he ground his hips into hers once again.

Rukia groaned as Ichigo assaulted her lips, massaged her breast and grounded his hips into hers causing wave after wave of that earth shattering pleasure to wash over her. She had seen the desperation in Ichigo's eyes and heard the need in his voice, and part of her wanted to give herself to him, but the other part of her was scared at what she was feeling and experiencing. The hand that had been on her breast suddenly started moving downwards and as it dipped below the waistline of her pyjamas her eyes flew open and panic washed over her. She grabbed his hand with one of her own preventing it from exploring further as she broke the kiss once more.

"Ichigo, stop" she stated firmly, relieved to hear that this time her voice had a serious edge to it.

Ichigo paused as he heard Rukia asked him to stop. Why did she want him to stop when this felt so good? He had just pleaded with her for Kami's sake and pleading was something he didn't do.

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers breathing in her scent deeply. She smelt of fresh snow and lavender. "Please Rukia. I...I...I need this" he pleaded again in a pained whisper. Never in his life had he ever needed sex so badly as he did right now, and never in his life had he _needed_ someone as much as he needed her. This wasn't just about sex, this was about needing to be with Rukia tonight.

Rukia heard Ichigo's pleas and closed her eyes as she felt tears well in them. "I'm sorry Ichigo" she whispered "I wish I could give you what you need but...but I can't"

"Why?" he asked and she could hear the hurt, pain and rejection in his voice.

She turned her head away from his and felt his forehead slide down the side of her face to rest in the crook of her neck, his panting breath causing shivers to cascade down her body. "Because..." she began falteringly "Because I've never done this before"

That got Ichigo's attention and he brought his head up slowly from where it was resting against her neck. He brought the hand that had been about to dip inside her pyjama bottoms up to caress her face and gently turned it towards him.

Rukia held her breath as she waited for him to respond to her revelation. She felt his hand move up to her face and turn it towards him and she could feel his breath ghosting over her cheeks, but she still couldn't open her eyes to look at him. 30 seconds must have passed, and still not hearing Ichigo speak, she reluctantly opened her eyes and glanced into his face. Rather than the anger she expected to see, all she saw was confusion and concern.

"What do you mean you've never done this before?" he asked her gently.

Rukia turned her head to the side and looked down at the floor as she suddenly felt ashamed and embarrassed about her innocence.

"I'm a Kuchiki, Ichigo. A member of one of the four great noble houses. Kuchiki woman are supposed to be pure when we get married" she informed him quietly, resignation evident in her tone.

Ichigo gulped. He remembered learning about noble houses during history lessons at school and horror washed over him as memories of what a noble house considered pure came rushing back to him.

"By pure, you mean..." he asked seriously letting the question tail off.

Rukia peeked back at the man who she had just lost a degree of her purity to "The whole shebang. Never been kissed, virginity intact until the wedding night etc etc..."

Guilt washed over Ichigo and he felt sick to his stomach upon hearing Rukia's confession. "So, you've never even... kissed ...anyone before?" he asked softly, horror evident in his voice.

"No" she whispered.

The heated pleasure and desire Ichigo had been feeling only moments ago evaporated as he realised that he was the one responsible for tarnishing part of Rukia's reputation for his own selfish pleasure. Kami he just attacked her without giving her a chance to speak before! He _knew_ she was a member of the great Kuchiki house and he didn't even consider that she was expected to be _completely_ pure until she was married. Gently he lowered her to the floor and released her before starting to pace across her living room once more, his hands once again racking through his hair.

Rukia saw the guilt and self-hatred that washed over Ichigo's features before he lowered her. She swallowed heavily as she perched against the wall of her living room, her legs still feels shaky and unsteady. Immediately the warmth she had been feeling evaporated and she felt guilty, she hadn't meant to add to woes this evening.

"It's ok Ichigo..." she began but was promptly cut off by Ichigo.

"No it's not!" he yelled "Kami Rukia, I was just about to... And you've never..." he babbled as he was trying to comprehend the situation they had just been in "I mean, how? How is it you've never even kissed anyone before? You're so hot, and beautiful, and passionate, and feisty. Kami, you managed to keep me in check as a teenager! How have you managed to avoid being even kissed until now?"

Rukia blushed as she heard Ichigo call her beautiful, no one had ever said that to her before. Truth was, growing up she had been a tom boy and had always been considered one of the guys, no one had considered her as a love interest. When Renji and she had joined the Spiritual Arts Academy she had felt so indignant that Renji had been put into the advanced class, when she knew she was better than him, that she had spent all her time studying and training to improve herself and to get herself promoted to the top class. She hadn't even had time for fun, let along boys or even a boyfriend. Then she had been adopted into the Kuchiki's and men had been afraid to approach her because of her status and because of her nii-sama's reputation as one of the most fearsome Captains of the Gotei 13. She had quickly learnt that as a Kuchiki she would be expected to marry into a noble house and become a dutiful wife when the time was right, apparently the influence of the Kuchiki's meant that the "No Resignations" policy of the Gotei 13 could be overlooked for the greater good of producing a future Kuchiki. There had been a particularly embarrassing examination by the family doctor to confirm her virginity and ever since then it had been clear that Byakuya would find a suitor for her when the time was appropriate.

"It just never happened" she replied with a shrug starting to find Ichigo's little freak out quite amusing, after all, she had been a willing participant. Truth was her innocence had never really bothered her until just now when she had been pressed up against a wall being ravaged by Ichigo, but then she'd never known what she had been missing out on until five minutes ago either. "Inuzuri isn't exactly a place that breeds romance and when I was at the Spiritual Arts Academy I spent all my time studying. The Kuchiki's then adopted me and their policy on purity is well known in Soul Society, so as I said, it just never happened"

Ichigo looked at her in disbelief "Not even with Renji?"

Rukia's nose crinkled up at the thought of kissing one of her best friend's "Ewww! No! He's like my brother" she exclaimed in disgust.

Ichigo continued pacing across Rukia's living room, his hands running through his hair and his trademark scowl on his face, contemplating what he had just done. He felt like crap by taking her first kiss away from her, but truth be told, he would do it again in a minute. Hell, he would kiss her again right now if she'd let him! The passion and desire she brought out in him was unbelievable and her kisses were addictive. It was like her lips were made for his and her small body curved into his perfectly. And her taste was indescribable. If he could bottle it up and sell it as food he would be a very rich man indeed. There was one thing that baffled him though.

"If you've never kissed anyone before, how come you're so good at it?" he asked her, a hint of accusation in her voice.

Indignation boiled within Rukia at Ichigo's accusation. "What are you saying Ichigo? That you think I'm lying?" she asked him harshly, smirking internally when she saw the shock register on his face "Well, I'm not. I guess it's just natural talent" she stated boldly before she strode over to where Ichigo stood, grabbed the collar of his shihakusho and pulled him down into another shearing kiss. Hell, if she was no longer considered wholly pure by the noble houses because she had kissed someone then she was going to kiss Ichigo until her dying day! The feelings that kissing him invoked inside her were beyond her comprehension and all she knew was that she wanted to experience them every day until the day she died. To her, kissing Ichigo was her slice of heaven.

Ichigo's eyes widened as Rukia ravaged his lips as she kissed him. He tried in vain to break the kiss, desperate was he not to tarnish her reputation anymore, but within seconds of her lips meeting his he was pulled into the abyss that was kissing Rukia Kuchiki. His hands found their way to her backside and were pulling her close to him again. Hell, what did it matter! He could take Byakuya on, the whole damn clan if need, and Rukia obviously had no problem with kissing him, so why should he care?

"Kami Rukia!" he exclaimed as they simultaneously broke the passionate kiss panting for air. "I can't wait to marry you if this is what kissing you feels like" he gasped, but no sooner had the words left his mouth did he feel Rukia stiffen in his arms and her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. It was only then that he realised what he had just said and his eyes widen to match the size of Rukia's.

"M...M...Married?" she stuttered in disbelief.

Ichigo stared at Rukia, his heart beating at what felt like a million beats per minute. Had he...had he just proposed? To _Rukia_?

"Ru..Rukia..." he began hesitantly but was cut off by a knock at the door.

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_Hope you enjoyed this chapter and all reviews are gratefully received. _

_Just to warn you there may not be an update next week as I found out on Friday that I've got to go on a business trip which starts next weekend and lasts into the middle of the following week. Joy! I'll aim to update the weekend after next at the latest I promise!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks for all the reviews and favourites following the last chapter. You may have also noticed that I've changed the rating to M given the scene in Chapter 6._

_One reviewer mentioned that Ichigo isn't assigned to a Division. I figure Ichigo is assigned to Division 13 as Captain Ukitake was the one who gave him the Combat Pass originally. It was also a 13th Division member i.e. Rukia, who was on duty the night Ichigo received his powers originally so I wonder if patrols in the living world (or at least Karakura) fall under Division 13's remit and therefore by default Ichigo would come under Division 13's command. It's never really been confirmed what Division 13's duties are so that's my interpretation of it._

_You will also notice this is a re-post of Chapter 7 as Open Source Artist pointed out that Kenpanchi didn't actually go to the Academy and it turns out I had misunderstood how he became a Captain from watching the anime! Anyway, I've tweaked it a bit so it's a bit more true to the Bleach storyline now._

_Similarly, numpty here completely forget that it is the number of the kido that gives the spell its power, so as other reviewers correctly pointed out, "Bakudo No 1 Sai" would have been absolutely no use on Ichigo. Thanks to an idea from Open Source Artist I have also changed that scene too so it is hopefully a bit more believable._

_Anyway, here's the amended Chapter 7 and I hope you enjoy it. I'll try and get Chapter 8 up tonight or tomorrow. _

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach. _

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Captain Ukitake stifled a yawn as he walked around the barracks of the Thirteenth. It was already past midnight and today had been especially tiring having trained all day, not to mention tonight's events. Ichigo storming out of the Captains Meeting earlier had not made things any easier either and the night had been as long and as fraught as he had expected. He was lucky that he had such a long standing relationship with Captain Yamamoto and the support of his old friend Captain Shunsui Kyoraku that meant he had been able to stop the old man from stripping Ichigo of all his powers and sending him to the 80th district of the Rukongai with no money, no powers, and no way of getting back to the Seireitei after his little stunt earlier. Captain Ukitake was a patient man, but tonight Ichigo had tested even his patience.

It had taken another half an hour after Ichigo had stormed out of the meeting for a decision to be reached on his future in Soul Society. However, he wasn't sure the decision the Captains had all eventually agreed upon concerning Ichigo's future was the best way forward either, despite how much Kyoraku had tried to reassure him that the right decision had been made as they'd walked back from the Captains Meeting together earlier.

Part of him just wanted to go back to Ugendo and sleep, but he knew that as Ichigo's current Captain he needed to find him first and explain his fate to him, plus he also needed to assign him a room to stay in tonight. The only problem was, he couldn't find Ichigo or his reiatsu anywhere.

When he had first come out of the Captain's Meeting he had searched for Ichigo's reiastsu everywhere to no avail, and after parting with Kyoraku at the Eighth, he had decided to pop into the Eleventh to see if Ichigo had gone there to drink with Third Seat Madarame, seeing as he was one of the few people that knew of Ichigo's passing. Although there were still a few shinigami up at the Eleventh drinking he had been informed that Madarame had retired for the night, the hours of battle appearing to have taken a toll on the bald headed man. So his next stop was going to be Rukia's quarter's, seeing as she was the only other person who knew that Ichigo was in Soul Society. He had located her reiatsu in her quarters in the Thirteenth's Division and that was where he was currently headed.

He tried not to let his mind stray from the task at hand, but he couldn't help the uneasy feeling that was creeping up on him and it only intensified as the closer he got to Rukia's quarters. Suddenly her reiatsu spiked and his brow creased in concern. Her reiatsu was normally a cool stable rhythm, much like a gentle stream, but it had suddenly started pulsing rapidly and it had...warmed if that was possible? Moments later he briefly felt the heavy weight of Ichigo's spiritual pressure, but no sooner had he felt it, it disappeared again. However, it was enough for him to know that Ichigo was with Rukia and he was overcome with worry. Something was not right with Rukia, and although she was a very powerful Lieutenant and he suspected she was very close to achieving her bankai, she would be no match for Ichigo if he had gone there to fight with her for some reason.

A brief image of Rukia's shocked, distraught face from the night she'd killed Kaien flashed into his mind and he was determined that he would not put her through something like that again. Immediately he shunpoed to Rukia's quarters and banged on her door.

"Rukia! Are you alright?" he yelled urgently through the door.

Rukia broke her gaze from Ichigo's and stared at her door in disbelief. Had Ichigo...? Had he...? And now her Captain was at her door? Why was her Captain at her door? What was going on?

"Rukia!" She heard her name called again, puzzled by the urgency in Captain Ukitake's voice and sensing the rising panic and distress in his reiatsu.

Slowly she moved towards her front door as if she was in a dream and opened it raising her eyes up to meet her Captain.

"Rukia. Thank goodness you're alright! Is everything ok?" Captain Ukitake's kind voice asked in a rush, and she couldn't help but notice the relief that tinged his tone and the way his body slumped slightly upon seeing her.

Rukia stared at her Captain for the longest time, yet her mouth would not move to form words. Eventually she felt her head nodding and gestured for Captain Ukitake to come into her home.

Captain Ukitake walked into Rukia's quarter's cautiously and glanced between Rukia and Ichigo as his Lieutenant shut her door. His brow crinkled in confusion as he surveyed the room. Nothing seemed to be broken, yet both Ichigo and Rukia looked uncomfortable and they were looking anywhere but at it each other. Minutes passed in silence and the tension that built in the room could be cut with a zanpakuto.

Eventually he cleared his voice and turned towards Rukia "I felt you reiatsu change and I was worried. Is everything ok?" he asked her gently.

Rukia stared at her Captain for the longest time. Was everything ok? Tonight she had seen Ichigo for the first time in twenty years, witnessed the aftermath of a human tragedy, performed numerous konsols, found Ichigo's body, argued with Ichigo, had her first kiss - with Ichigo no less - and been proposed to. Was she ok?

"H...Hai Captain" she managed to choke out in an unsteady voice.

Captain Ukitake's concern rose further. Rukia had just stuttered and he had never heard her stutter before. Her voice was always strong and steady and she spoke with purpose. He surveyed the room once again, this time focusing his attention on Rukia and Ichigo more. He noticed they were both tense, they were both flushed, their clothes and hair were dishevelled, and their lips did seem more swollen than usual. Realisation dawned on him and he felt his eyes widen in shock.

"Were you...?" he asked in disbelief.

Rukia's eyes shot up to meet her Captain's and she felt panic and mortification flood through her as she realised her Captain had figured out what Ichigo and she had been doing merely 5 minutes ago. Her mouth hung agape as she tried to find a way to explain.

"We were just talking about tonight. I was helping Rukia with her report, after all, she was the one who found my body" Ichigo's steady deep voice came from the other side of the room, his trademark scowl on his face. Rukia wondered how he could sound so blazé over what had just transpired between them. Did he not mean what he had said after all?

Captain Ukitake looked between the two and saw the indignation flash through Rukia's eyes and her cheeks flush a deeper red. Ichigo continued to glare at Rukia, but he could clearly see that his skin had tinged a deeper shade of pink too. Oh to be young again!

"Talking huh?" he replied with a small smile and a knowingly look. He was pleased for Rukia as she deserved some happiness after all this time. She had been so lonesome and closed off since she had been adopted by the Kuchiki's, and that had only intensified after Kaien had died. But when Ichigo and his friends had arrived in Soul Society all those years ago he had been pleased to see Rukia making friends with the "ryoka" from the living world. It had been whilst he was watching her train with Orihime Inoue just before the Winter War that he had first started to think she would make a good Lieutenant for his Division, and he had been correct.

And Ichigo. He was aware that his beloved mother had died protecting him when he was young and Ichigo had seen things as a teenager that even the most experienced Captains should not have to see. Even now the young man walked around with a permanent scowl on his face, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and he thought he could do with some happiness in his life. It was a shame that he was going to have to break the news that he had to.

"Ca..Captain, I can explain..." Rukia began in a small voice before being cut off by her senior officer. She had never felt so ashamed or embarrassed in her entire life.

"Rukia, as long as you are safe and happy that is all I care about. I was actually out looking for Ichigo when I felt the flux in your reiatsu, and when I felt his and realised he was with you, I came here straight away" he informed his subordinate affectionately.

Captain Ukitake turned towards Ichigo with a stern, serious look on his face "Ichigo, the Captains and the Captain Commander have reached a decision about your future".

Ichigo turned his attention to Captain Ukitake "So what's happening to me then?" he asked scornfully.

"Ichigo, Soul Society is extremely grateful for everything you have done for them as a substitute Soul Reaper and are obviously aware of your expert fighting skills and your high level of spiritual pressure" Captain Ukitake stated seriously "However, there are gaps in your knowledge and skill set and as such it has been agreed that as of tomorrow you will be discharged..."

"What! You're discharging me!" Ichigo yelled indignantly at his soon to be former Captain. After everything he had done for Soul Society, hell, he had even given up his powers so that he could defeat Aizen, they were tossing him away without a second thought?!

"If you would let me finish" Captain Ukitake reprimanded his subordinate with a stern look on his face "You will be temporarily discharged from Division 13 and will attend the Spiritual Arts Academy until you have obtained all the relevant skills that are required of a Soul Reaper and have graduated".

Ichigo stared at Captain Ukitake in shock. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked in disbelief "I'm one of the strongest shinigami you have! I'm the only one who was strong enough to stop Aizen for Kami's sake and now you're sending me back to school!" he exclaimed indignantly.

Captain Ukitake sighed internally. He'd known that Ichigo would not take this plan well. "I understand your concerns Ichigo, and if your particular skill set is required in battle you will be asked to join a mission. But let's not forget you have very little knowledge of the history and workings of Soul Society, or the other arts apart from swordsmanship and shunpo"

"Bullshit!" Ichigo exclaimed "For knowing only swordsmanship and shunpo I have done...aaaahhhh!"

Ichigo didn't know what had happened, one minute he had been arguing with Captain Ukitake, the next his arms had suddenly been pulled behind his back and tied. The only time he had been in a situation like this before had been when...

"Why you little...! Grrr!" he growled as he quickly pulled his arms free from the binding spell Rukia had just placed on him and headed towards the midget. "I'm not a kid anymore, damn it! You can't just throw these spells at me and expect them to have an effect! I've trained, I've developed...I AM STRONGER THAN YOU NOW" he yelled angrily.

"Bakudo number 4: Hainawa!" Rukia yelled as he closed in on her, an infuriating smirk on her lips. Immediately an energy rope appeared around Ichigo and he gasped as she pulled it tight around his arms and chest making it difficult for him to breath. The tightness of the rope caused him to stop as he struggled to catch his breath and he was about to break the bonds when he felt a change in spiritual pressure and movement behind him.

Three seconds. That's all it took. Three simple seconds, but in those few seconds it took him to break the chains, turn around and reach for zengetsu he found himself confronted with a serious looking Captain Ukitake whose zanpaktou was currently resting on his chest. Ichigo gulped and he felt his eyes widen fractionally.

"Ichigo, sometimes swordsmanship and shunpo aren't always enough. There is a reason why the Academy teaches kido." Captain Ukitake informed him calmly, although his zanpaktou continued to rest against Ichigo's chest.

"Well it seems I broke the kido easily enough" Ichigo stated brashly, swallowing down the uneasiness that having a blade pressed against him caused.

"It is not the strength of the kido that matters, but the distraction it causes. Lieutenant Kuchiki restrained you for barely a few seconds, but in those few moments it allowed me to get close enough to strike and kill you if I so wished" Captain Ukitake stated seriously.

"Do you remember the night we first met?" Rukia asked the orange haired man before her as she came to stand next to her Captain.

"Of course I do!" Ichigo exclaimed indignantly, his eyes still starting wearily at Captain Ukitake.

"Then you'll remember that I bound you with Bakudo number 1: Sai. The reason I chose that spell was because you were distracting me from Fishbone D. I didn't want to hurt you or kill you, I simply wanted you out of the way whilst I took care of the hollow" she stated seriously "Unfortunately for me I had discovered the one person in Karakura who was capable of breaking the spell" she muttered as an afterthought.

"Now imagine you're a Captain and you're leading your division into battle" Captain Ukitake continued "You and your division are fighting an influx of Adjuchas and Gillians. As you have just rightly stated you're not a kid anymore and you are stronger, you can kill tens of Gillians with one simple Getsuga Tensho, but not every shinigami can. Say one of your colleagues has been knocked out and a Gillian is bearing down on them. You can't get there in time to kill it directly with your zanpaktou and you can't use Getsuga Tensho because you would kill your team mate. So what are you going to do when you can't protect one of your own?" he asked seriously.

"I'd get there in time!" Ichigo growled. There was no doubt in his mind that if he was a Captain and one of his subordinates was in trouble he would get there in time.

"There's not always time in battle Ichigo to get where you need to be. Sometimes you're needed in more than one place at once" Captain Ukitake stated calmly "And that's where a simple bakudo spell can come in handy. For a few seconds you can slow down the enemy and those might just be the few seconds you need to save someone or allow someone time to defend themselves. Sometimes a few seconds really can make all the difference."

"And there are always the practical use of kido too. One small spell when you're out of matches and you have a fire" Rukia added with a small smile, causing a small chuckle to escape from Captain Ukitake.

"That is correct, Rukia. Kido can save a fortune on matches!" Captain Ukitake added with a smile. "If you go to the Spiritual Arts Academy then you'll know not only how to cast these spells in an attack, but also how to use them to defend yourself and protect your comrades. In battle strength and power isn't always the most important thing Ichigo."

"Most of the battles you have faced have been alone. You know there have been no major threats to Soul Society or the human world for over twenty years and most of the work you will be doing here now will be as part of a team. You're not by yourself anymore and thinking as a team takes time and practice." Rukia stated softly. It wasn't that Ichigo couldn't fight as part of a team, it was just he hadn't really needed to before.

"She's right" Captain Ukitake confirmed. This was why he was glad Rukia was his Lieutenant. She was strict, yet fair, and had some unusual training methods but she always got the point across. It was not the first time he had seen her restrain a Soul Reaper for the purpose of demonstrating how important kido was. After all, it had ultimately been Kisuke Urahara that had managed to contain Aizen using kido after Ichigo's final attack.

Ichigo pondered what Captain Ukitake had said. He wasn't one of the oldest most respected Captain's in the Gotei 13 for nothing and Ichigo had to admit that he was one of the few Captains he actually admired. What Captain Ukitake had said had been correct, he had let himself become distracted by Rukia's use of kido against him and what he said about a few seconds making all the difference made sense. After all, if her has simply been a few seconds later at the train station today he wouldn't have been in the train crash and he wouldn't be in this situation now. But would a similar tactic work in battle? Rukia was right, he had really own fought by himself before.

Ichigo stared at the woman in front of him. As much as it killed him to admit it, 9 times out of 10 Rukia was right about stuff like this. Kami, how many times had she called him an idiot, only to be proved right? When he was a teenager she would scold him and try to teach him, but he would always do his own thing and rely on his instincts. Granted his instincts had rarely let him down, but now that he was stuck in Soul Society and he one day planned to become a Captain, could he run his own squad on instincts alone? More importantly, would the soul reapers he be managing be able to rely on their own instincts and work together? He knew from working with the soul reapers in Tokyo that they often relied on strategies they had learned at the Academy as they hadn't been able to rely on their strength alone, like he was able to do.

"Okay" he whispered darkly "I'll go".

Relief washed through Ichigo as Captain Ukitake removed his zanpaktou and he was startled when he heard Captain Ukitake start to talk calmly "Ichigo, attending the Spiritual Arts Academy is not a punishment, it is an honour. When you are a Captain, which no doubt someday you will be, you will be expected to be more than competent in all methods of attack and defence and you will be expected to teach classes at an advanced level. If you do not learn these skills how do you expect to lead a Division? You need to be a role model for your division and that means you must be highly skilled in all disciplines. How do you expect to obtain the respect of your subordinates if they know they are more skilled than you in some respects?"

Ichigo snorted. "Are you telling me that Captain Kenpachi knows kido?"

"No, but the Head Captain and him almost came to blows when Yamamoto refused to let you join Kenpachi's division. Of course I'm sure he would be more that willing to fight you for his position in accordance with 3rd Captain Qualification Trial if you really don't want to attend the Academy" Captain Ukitake informed him seriously. "In fact he was most upset when Head Captain Yamamoto forbade it."

Ichigo shuddered at the thought of having to fight the crazy bastard again. Having to fight him in order to rescue Rukia had been one thing, but doing it voluntarily? There was no way in hell he was going to do that! Suddenly attending the Spiritual Arts Academy didn't seem like such a bad thing...

"And don't forget" Captain Ukitake continued "As a Captain you'll be expected to uphold the laws and traditions of Soul Society, and if I remember correctly, you're quite good at breaking them. It's one thing to come and break the law when you can run off to the living world afterwards, but you don't have that safety net anymore Ichigo. Do you really want to take on the whole of the Seireitei and Central 46 without knowing all the facts first?"

Ichigo signed internally. Captain Ukitake was right. In his human life he had had to work his way up through the ranks of the Metropolitan Police Department, and although he had been a high flyer, it had still taken him several years to make Inspector. Hell, it had taken him 5 years to be accepted on the Superintendants course! And Rukia was right, he didn't know how to work as part of a team. Even working as an Inspector he rarely worked with a partner, it was just too difficult when they'd arrive at a crime scene and Ichigo could still see the spirit and know that a konsol needed to be performed. If he someday wanted to lead his own division then he needed to know all methods of combat, not just the ones he had learnt along the way, and he needed to know how to work as part of a team. "You're right. One day I do want to be a Captain and I need to show that I can learn these skills and work a part of a team".

Captain Ukitake nodded and relief washed over him. Perhaps Ichigo had matured more than he had thought? "I'm glad to hear you have accepted our proposition" he stated simply.

"So when will people know that I am here permanently?" Ichigo asked curiously.

"An announcement will be made in the morning at the morning briefings" Captain Ukitake informed him to which Ichigo nodded "And Ichigo, after your outburst at the Captains Meeting earlier you need to realise how lucky you were not to have had a konsol performed on your soul and to have been sent to the outer most reaches of the Rukongai. You are in a unique position to be able to remember your life in the human world as well as experience life in the Soul Society and you should remember that. We live as a team in the Gotei 13 and you are now a member of that team. Please consider this the next time you feel like disrespecting all the Captains of the Gotei 13 as it would not do you well to make enemies now Ichigo, you have a long future ahead of you here" he continued sternly.

Ichigo nodded realising that he was going to have to learn to control his temper even if he didn't respect all of his fellow soul reapers. Yoruichi had once told him that the stone, cold faced, Byakuya Kuchiki was once had a hot head as a child and a teenager, and if Byakuya could learn to control himself, he could too.

"Well, I should be going" Captain Ukitake stated and he turned towards the door to leave however, he suddenly remembered the situation he had found himself in when he had first arrived. As much as he hated getting involved with his squad members personal lives, all the evidence pointed towards something romantic having happened between Ichigo and Rukia, and as a member of a low ranking noble family he realised the importance of Rukia innocence until her wedding night. Ichigo could not stay with his Lieutenant tonight, even if nothing happened between the two soul reapers Rukia's reputation could still be tarnished if rumours started flowing about Ichigo having slept at her quarters overnight, and if those rumours ever got to Byakuya...

"Ichigo, I think it would be best if you stayed with me tonight a Ugendo" he stated seriously "After all, you have to report to the Academy at 6am tomorrow".

Both Ichigo and Rukia turned to face the Captain with their faces flushing instantly.

Ichigo glanced at Rukia and saw the uncertainty, fear and embarrassment in her eyes. If he was not going to see her for several months - because if it was the last thing he did he would be done with that school in under a year - he needed to clear the air between them. It had taken his human life ending to realise how important she was to him.

"I still need to help Rukia with her report, and if this is my last night..." Ichigo replied in a serious tone letting the sentence trail off.

Captain Ukitake scowled slightly. If they really were working on Rukia's report then this would be the last opportunity they'd have before Ichigo graduated from the academy. "Okay, but if you are not at Ugendo in 30 minutes I'm coming back" he stated seriously. He just hoped that Byakuya had not felt the change in Rukia's reiatsu, because if he had and if he ever guessed what Captain Ukitake suspected Rukia and Ichigo had been doing before his arrival, then things were going to get nasty.

Rukia and Ichigo nodded solemnly. "I'll be there" Ichigo answered honestly. "Just make sure I can sense your spiritual pressure so I can find it" to which Captain Ukitake nodded in agreement.

"I'll see you out" Rukia stated as she moved towards her door and opened it.

"Thank you Rukia, I'll see you tomorrow. Don't work too hard" Captain Ukitake said kindly.

"Hai Captain" Rukia answered dutifully.

Captain Ukitake turned to leave, but just before he launched into shunpo he remembered a piece of news he had to tell Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" Captain Ukitake called out causing Rukia to look up puzzled at her Captain, before opening the door she had been in the process of shutting to let her Captain back into her home.

"Yeah" Ichigo drawled, suddenly feeling tired and drained.

"Congratulations, it seems you have a new nephew" Captain Ukitake informed the soul reaper happily with a smile on his face.

Ichigo looked up at Captain Ukitake in shock. "Yuzu! She had a boy!" he exclaimed in delight, an uncharacteristic smile on his face. "Thank goodness! Daitaro needs a brother."

"Seems he is named after his Uncle" he informed Ichigo with a smile on his face.

"Wait he's named after me? How do you...?" Ichigo exclaimed in confusion.

"I have my ways" Captain Ukitake replied mysteriously. In all actuality he had simply asked the Soul Reaper in Karakura to patrol the hospital and report when Yuzu had had her baby as soon as he had received Ichigo's message advising he was taking some time off to spend with his family. There were perks to being a Captain and he wanted to send a gift to Yuzu like he had when Daitaro, Aimi and Nene had been born. After all, the small boy was a direct relative of Isshin and Ichigo Kurosaki.

He nodded his farewell to Rukia and Ichigo one last time before he shunpoed into the night. He arrived at Ugendo in seconds with a smile on his face. Ichigo's arrival in Soul Society sure had shaken things up and he had only been here a few hours. He had a feeling that things were definitely going to get more interesting now that Ichigo was around, especially if Byakuya ever found out that Ichigo had stolen some of Rukia's innocence, as he suspected. If that ever happened he was pretty sure the Seireitei would be engulfed in cherry pink razor blades before Ichigo even had the chance to say "Bankai".

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed the re-write... _

_NB: Some of you might be wondering why Byakuya didn't pick up on the change of Rukia's reiatsu. The way it works in my head is that he would have shunpoed straight to the Kuchiki manor after the meeting as Captain Ukitake is responsible for informing Ichigo of his future. Byakya would probably be in bed given that it was past midnight when the meeting finished and Captain Ukitake walked the majority of the way back to the 13th, stopping by the 8th and the 11th on the way. Also, don't forget that Byakuya doesn't know that Ichigo is with Rukia so he may not be too concerned with monitoring her reiatsu because as far as he is concerned she should be in bed asleep._


	8. Chapter 8

_So as promised, here is Chapter 8. I hope you enjoy. _

**_Disclaimer: _**_Still don't own Bleach._

* * *

Rukia closed the door behind her Captain and braced herself to face a happy Ichigo. It didn't happen often, in fact she had only witnessed it a handful of times in the years that she had known him and most of those times had been after his father had let him drink sake on a special occasion, but when Ichigo was happy he had a tendency to act like his crazy father. What she did not expect to find when she turned round was to be confronted with a forlorn and sad looking man.

"Ichigo?" she questioned.

"I'm never going to meet him, am I?" he stated quietly.

"Huh?" Rukia questioned again.

"Little Ichigo. And Kami! Why did they have to give him my name? Do you know how many fights I was in during my life because of my stupid name?" Ichigo exclaimed angrily. "He's going to have to go through all that and I'm not even going to be there to protect him or to teach him how to fight and protect himself."

"What about his father?" Rukia asked inquisitively.

Ichigo scoffed. "That man is a complete waste of space! I don't know what Yuzu sees in him"

"Well, what about your nephew? Daitaro is it? You've been in his life, surely you've taught him a thing or too? And don't forget your father is still around. Seeing as he was a former Captain I'm sure he can look after little Ichigo" Rukia tried to reassure him.

Ichigo scoffed again "Yeah, because he was so good at defending me. You remember my father, right? Crazy man that tried to fight me everyday."

"Well I thought that's what you wanted! For little Ichigo to learn how to fight so he could protect himself?" Rukia exclaimed in frustration.

"Yeah, but not like that! He needs to be taught, not just thrown in at the deep end with the hope that he'll figure it out! Maybe Daitaro will pass on the few things I've taught him, he's pretty protective of Aimi and Nene so hopefully he'll protect little Ichigo too" he stated with grim hope.

Ichigo sighed and Rukia watched as realisation and defeat washed over Ichigo's features.

"I'm never going to get to meet him and I'm never going to be able to see Daitaro, Aimi or Nene again, am I? Ichigo stated dejectedly.

Rukia swallowed at the desperation and sadness that she saw in Ichigo's eyes. "Maybe if there's a mission..." she began.

"Yeah, but it won't be the same. I'll only be able to look in on their lives, I can't go and play with them or be cool Uncle Ichigo in a gigai, because as you said earlier, it will confuse them. They don't need to know about all this shit. I want to keep them as innocent as Yuzu is" he exclaimed sadly.

Rukia swallowed thickly as she saw the resignation and acceptance flicker in Ichigo's eyes. Same old Ichigo, trying to protect everyone that he loved and feeling guilty when he couldn't.

A heavy silence fell between them and truthfully she was once again at a loss of what to say. She may have been adopted into the Kuchiki's but that didn't mean she had a happy family life. The Elders hated her and considered her a stain on the Kuchiki name, much like Hisana had been, and although Byakuya and herself had become closer, their interaction was pretty much limited to formal dinners a few times a week or her monthly training session with Byakuya so he could monitor her development. The only times they really bonded was on the anniversary of Hisana's death when Byakuya had taken to sharing something about her sister on that one day a year. At least she now had a small idea of what her sister had been like and Byakuya had even passed down a few of her trinkets. She was even the proud owner of a sketch Hisana had drawn of her as a baby, it was one of her most treasured possessions.

Frantically Rukia searched her mind for any other topic they could discuss, and her traitorous mind immediately shot back to what had transpired between them before Captain Ukitake had arrived. Her face and body immediately started to heat up again until a sobering thought washed over her.

"Did...did you have any kids?" she asked quietly. What little she knew about Ichigo's human life prior to tonight's events had mainly been rumours, she had no idea if he'd had children and she couldn't bring herself to ask him if he'd had a wife - a part of her hated herself for that too.

Ichigo glanced at the small woman that stood in front of him and paused before answering. "No. I had a steady girlfriend in college and a few flings since then, but nothing serious. I never got married." At the mention of the word married, his mind shot back to what he had said to Rukia earlier this evening and his eyes widened.

What Rukia could only assume was jealousy rushed through her as Ichigo mentioned he'd had a girlfriend, but as soon as she heard the word married she flashed back to Ichigo's statement to Captain Ukitake earlier _"We were just talking about tonight. I was helping Rukia with her report, after all, she was the one who found my body". _That's right, to him their kiss had meant nothing.

"I suppose we should get on with the report" she stated coldly as she headed over towards her desk. Truth was, she did need to take Ichigo's statement and this would be the last opportunity.

"What?" Ichigo asked in confusion. Admittedly he had never proposed before, intentionally or otherwise, but he was pretty sure that the cold shoulder was not the correct response. "Aren't we going to talk about what happened?"

Rukia stopped on her way towards her desk and shot him a dark look over her shoulder. He was taken aback by the hurt and anger he saw in her gaze "I think you made it perfectly clear earlier that what happened meant nothing to you"

"What?" he questioned again.

_"We were just talking about tonight. I was helping Rukia with her report, after all, she was the one who found my body. _Isn't that what you said? Pretty clear what you meant" Rukia stated scornfully.

She couldn't believe she had let her self-control slip like that essentially over a crush she had had on Ichigo over 20 years ago. At least no one had seen them and she was pretty sure that Ichigo wasn't going to tell anyone what had happened so at least to everyone else she was still completely innocent. Captain Ukitake may have his suspicions but he had no proof and she was certainly not going to give him any. She just hoped her brother never found out what had happened.

"You're kidding me, right? What was I supposed to say? _Well, Rukia and I were making out just before you arrived and if you hadn't turned up I probably would have ended up fucking her on the floor if she hadn't told me she was a virgin?_" Ichigo yelled angrily.

Rukia flinched at Ichigo's words.

"Look I'm not going to lie, I'm not a saint" Ichigo continued in a quieter tone "I was a Police Inspector in the human world and there were a few instances after a tough case where I did go out, get drunk, and sleep with some random woman just to feel something, _anything,_ other than the horror at what humanity can do to each other. Some of the stuff I saw, Kami, it was worse than what some hollows can do, and tonight I just couldn't deal with everything ok? To begin with all I wanted was to have sex to numb everything. I'm not proud of that, but it's the truth and I'm sorry I took part of your innocence away in the process. Kami, if only I'd known..." he stated remorsefully as he started to pace around the room, his hands running through his hair.

Rukia felt like a knife had just been plunged into her heart and much to her chagrin she felt her eyes start to burn. But she would not cry over him. She would not cry for someone who had been trying to use her. He had made her feel all these amazing emotions that she could barely identify, yet he had made her feel so wanted, so desired, so exhilarated - Kami, she had just felt so _alive_ - and to him she would've been just a random woman to make himself feel better.

"Get out" she stated in a low dangerous voice and she noticed the surprise that flittered across Ichigo's face, although he made no attempt to move.

Ichigo stared at the small raven haired woman in front of him and suddenly felt very afraid. Her eyes glared at him icily and he wouldn't have be surprised if she could have frozen him in that moment with the look she was giving him - Sode no Shirayuki to hand or not. But what scared him the most was that in that moment he realised just how much Rukia meant to him and how much he had hurt her. Suddenly he was afraid he was going to lose her for good, and he couldn't face that. Not seeing her for twenty years had been bad enough.

"Rukia wait..." he started in a panic.

"I said, GET OUT" Rukia repeated again in the same deadly tone. How dare he make her feel all the things she had, then tell her he regretted taking a part of her innocence away and that it meant nothing. She had resigned herself a long time ago to the fact that she would probably end up in a loveless arranged marriage, but now she had an inkling of what passion felt like and knowing that she would never get to experience that again enraged her. Maybe this was the reason it was so important for noble women to be so innocent on their wedding night, so they didn't know what they were missing out on?

"Rukia, just let me..." he tried again.

"NO!" Rukia yelled suddenly overcome with pain and anger "I will not stand here and listen whilst you try and justify what happened tonight. You were going to use me and the Ichigo I knew back then _never _used his friends and family for anything. He just wanted to protect them, not abuse them. What happened to you in the last twenty years, huh? When did you become so selfish? The last time I saw you you were just the same as before, but tonight with your "I don't need to go to school" speech and "I just needed sex" speech you come across as an arrogant ass. Why do you suddenly think you are better than all of us? The Ichigo I knew back then never accepted any praise when he rescued me or when he defeated Aizen, and he never held it over mine or Soul Society's head. I KNOW you lost your powers after you defeated Aizen, but don't forget that it was Soul Society that gave them back to you. Soul Society doesn't owe you anything Ichigo" she finished quietly as she turned away from Ichigo.

Ichigo growled "If you'd just let me finish" he yelled through gritted teeth.

"Why should I?" Rukia snorted angrily as she whirled around to face Ichigo "I'm not going to see you for years after tonight. By the time you're done with the academy I'll probably be married to some stiff noble that my brother feels is the best for me and the Kuchiki's" she informed him as she turned and continued walking back towards her desk.

"I said, LET ME FINISH" he yelled angrily as he grabbed her arm and tugged her to face him. What he hadn't anticipated was just how light Rukia was and just how angry he was. The tug of her arm had caused her to crash into him and once again they were only inches away from each other.

Ichigo swallowed thickly as he felt that strange electrical current start to pulse between them once more and he felt Rukia gasp against his chest just before she started to struggle against him. "Rukia wait" he pleaded again.

"LET GO OF ME!" she yelled, a kido spell already forming in her head to get the orange haired man off her.

"No! I just want you to listen to me! To start with, yes, I just wanted to sleep with you, but as soon as I kissed you Rukia...Kami, it was like nothing I had experienced before! I've never shared a kiss with anyone like that. And I mean never. Not with my girlfriend, not with anyone I've slept with, no one. Then when you said about being a virgin... Kami Rukia! I panicked, okay! But it made me realise how much I care about you, how much I want you in my life now that I'm here permanently. It made me realise that part of the reason I never married in the living world was because no one compared to you. It just never felt right with anyone else, there was always something missing, something lacking. But with you, even now with us arguing, it feels right" Ichigo stated with sincerity.

"I screwed up, I get it, I really do" Ichigo continued "Even I know Byakuya will have my ass for kissing you if he ever found out. Kami, I can understand it too. I remember what it was like watching Karin and Yuzu date as teenagers, my Dad and I just wanted to knock each of the bastards out but Karin and Yuzu always managed to get their boyfriends out of the way in time. And then when Yuzu got pregnant I just wanted to kill her husband. It was a good thing that my Dad was able to establish Daitaro was a honeymoon baby because otherwise my brother in law wouldn't have stood a chance against my Dad and I, soul reaper powers or not. I'm an older brother, I get where Byakuya is coming from now. Hell, I would want to kill me if I was Byakuya and I found out what had just happened between us. I get it, I really do" he stated quietly gazing into Rukia's eyes hoping to see some of the iciness gone.

Rukia desperately tried to ignore the strange pull and the burning desire that was building in her once again as she struggled against Ichigo's hold. When had her anger turned to desire? Is this what Rangiku had been telling her about all these years? That angry sex was some of the best there was? She tried not to listen to what Ichigo was saying, she tried to remember that he had been trying to use here barely an hour ago, but she couldn't. Her heart was listening to everything that Ichigo was saying and only a deaf man would have missed the earnestness and desperation in his voice. This is the Ichigo she remembered. The guy that respected people and wanted to do the best for them, the guy who cared about his friends and family above all else, the guy who wanted to protect everyone and would always feel so guilty when he couldn't. This Ichigo was not the sleaze who hung around in bars trying to get laid.

"And why should I believe you now?" she asked quietly breaking her gaze from Ichigo's and stopping her struggle against his hold.

Ichigo was taken aback by Rukia's question. For Kami's sake he had just bared his soul to her and she still doubted him? "Because I'm telling the truth" he replied simply as he released her arms, now more confident that she wouldn't make him leave or try to fight him. He knew she was stronger now, but he was still stronger and he did not want to fight her.

Rukia looked at him sceptically and crossed her arms. "So you went from wanting to use me to wanting to marry me in a few short minutes?" she snorted in disbelief.

Ichigo's scowl deepened. Kami! Why had he done something as reckless as propose to her? "Look it just slipped out in the heat of the moment, okay? Finding out you were a virgin threw me. I knew I had done something that could cause you to get into terrible trouble, but kissing you was so intense and part of me just wanted to continue what we were doing and I guess the only way I thought I could make it right was to marry you. It just came out" he sighed.

Anger welled inside Rukia once again "So you only wanted to marry me to cover up your mistake? To make yourself feel better?" she asked indignantly.

Ichigo panicked at Rukia's harsh tone "NO! I mean yes, partly...I mean... I don't know!" he exclaimed in frustration throwing his arms up in the air. "Look all I know is that tonight I saw you again and it was like an epiphany. You were no longer the annoying woman that slept in my cupboard who was constantly on my case, you were a beautiful woman. I mean you've become even stronger and you've matured. You just have this air around you now, it was always there before, but now it's just... it's just beautiful. You're beautiful".

Rukia felt her checks flush and some of the anger and indignation flow away. Was she being too harsh on him? A lot had transpired tonight, perhaps things would be better left as they were until Ichigo had finished at the Academy? Perhaps they just needed time to adjust to everything that had happened? What did they really know about each other now?

Ichigo sighed "Look, it's been twenty years and you're right, we barely know each other now" he stated seriously as if reading her mind "We've both changed, and I'll admit that proposing now was not the best thing to do, but if there's one thing I know after tonight is that's life's too short. There's obviously something between us, you feel that pull too, right?"

Rukia nodded reluctantly.

"So how about we start from scratch. How about a date instead? We can get to know each other again and see how things go from there" he proposed hopefully.

Rukia pondered what Ichigo had just said. The fact that he had initially planned to use her still hurt, but she knew she had feelings for Ichigo that were more than platonic. Tonight had demonstrated that they obviously had good chemistry together, after all, was she not the one who had initiated the second kiss? And Ichigo did seem very honest and sincere in his explanation of things. What experience did she have to rely on in any case, she'd never been in this situation before? Even Rangiku's tales of passion were nothing like what she had experienced with Ichigo. Kami, after everything that he had put her through this evening, after all the rejection and pain and the disgrace their actions could have caused her, was she really considering this?

"And how do you propose to date me when you'll be in the Academy for the next few years?" she asked him, the scepticism still evident in her voice.

Ichigo shrugged and allowed a small smile to appear on his face "I'm sure there are ways I can sneak out" he stated simply. "And it's only going to be a few months, not a few years" he added with determination.

Rukia returned his smile hesitantly. She remembered fondly the times when she and her classmates had snuck out of their dorms and headed into the Rukongai when she had been a student there. A wig, a balloon and a good arrangement of pillows could easily deceive the soul reapers who patrolled the grounds at night, and the trick of sneaking past the gate was watching when the guards changed shifts. Maybe it wasn't so crazy after all.

And who was she kidding? The way Ichigo picked things up he would be done with the Academy in record time.

"Ok" she replied hesitantly, not quite sure what she was letting herself into.

"Really?" Ichigo asked, the relief evident in his voice, as he approached her cautiously.

"Yeah, but I don't think Byakuya will be happy about it" she added with a small frown.

"Like I care what Byakuya thinks" Ichigo scoffed.

Rukia shot him an indignant scowl. "I thought you understood where my brother was coming from?" she asked him dangerously.

Ichigo gulped "I do, I really do, I don't want to cause you anymore...shame... but I mean we've kissed, right? So there's no reason we can't still keep doing that, it's not making you any less innocent, and if he catches us on a date we'll just say it was two old friends catching up. I mean, how mad can he get about that? And if it works out I'll do everything properly, the whole asking permission thing and everything."

Rukia raised one of her eyebrows as she looked at Ichigo "You obviously have no idea how much my brother hates you, do you?"

"Don't worry about him Rukia, I can handle him" Ichigo reassured her with a shrug. He fought him for Rukia once before and won, he'd do it again in a heartbeat over her.

"Since when did you start following the rules?" she asked inquisitively.

"Since I grew up and realised that sometimes you have to do what's asked of you to get what you want out of life" he replied matter of factly "I mean going to the Academy is going to be a pain in the ass, but I had to attend the Police Academy when I trained to be a Police Office and an Inspector, and I was attending it again to become a Superintendent. I've had some real pain in the ass bosses, but I learnt to deal with them and what they asked of me otherwise I'd have lost my job. Now that I've had time to think about it, going to the Academy is no different. I figure that I've learnt most of the skills I need, I just need to learn that kido stuff and about the history and laws of Soul Society, get a piece of paper to show I'm a qualified soul reaper and sit the exam for the Gotei 13. It's just pompous bureacracy but once it's done, it's done".

Rukia stared in disbelief at Ichigo. She was impressed by his attitude and she was once again reminded of the Ichigo she had known twenty years ago. Maybe he wasn't the arrogant ass she thought he was, after all, he had pretty much laid his feeling out on the table for her - something that Rangiku had said men never do - and he did seem to care about her whole innocence thing. It did really seem like he wanted to do things the right way.

"Plus it'll be handy to know what Soul Society laws I'm breaking as I try to move this place forward with the times. This place could do with a bit of a shake up, it's like nothing has changed in the twenty years I've been gone" Ichigo continued with a smirk.

"Soul Society always was more eventful when you were around" Rukia commented with a smile "I missed that while you were gone" she added shyly.

"I missed you too, Rukia" Ichigo added, his checks tingeing pink at his admission. "Besides, sneaking out to meet you will provide me with good motivation in my kido studies" he added huskily.

Rukia looked at him in confusion, her breath catching when she saw the desire that was now heating his gaze "Wh...what?" she asked.

"Oh nothing" Ichigo replied nonchalantly. "It's just that ropes and binds can be fun in the bedroom"

Rukia's eyes widened in shock at Ichigo's innuendo, but before she could process anything further, Ichigo was pulling her body towards him and his mouth was devouring hers once again. For several minutes the couple kissed passionately until suddenly the couple felt a heavy reiatsu heading their way. Immediately Ichigo released Rukia from his grip and both their eyes widened in panic.

"Captain Ukitake..." Rukia whispered.

"It's been 30 minutes already?" Ichigo asked in disbelief.

He looked at the door anxiously before quickly placing once last reverent lingering kiss on Rukia's lips. "I'll see you soon" he muttered before he turned and headed towards the door.

"Hi" he uttered as he pulled the door open to reveal an angry looking Captain Ukitake. He had no idea the man could even get angry!

"Ichigo" Captain Ukitake stated in a deep voice which clearly showed his displeasure at having to come and retrieve Ichigo from his Lieutenants quarters.

"I was just leaving" Ichigo replied with a gulp.

"How's the report coming along Rukia?" he asked his subordinate sternly, noting the abandoned report on Rukia's desk "I expect it on my desk first thing in the morning"

"Hai Captain" Rukia replied dutifully, her checks blazing having been caught once again in a compromising situation with Ichigo by her Captain.

"Let's go" Captain Ukitake commanded as he shunpoed off. Ichigo nodded to Rukia one last time before he followed Captain Ukitake towards Ugendo.

Captain Ukitake waited for Ichigo to catch him up before he spoke again "You hurt her and I'll kill you" he stated simply however, Ichigo could clearly see the seriousness of his threat behind his eyes.

"I won't" he reassured the Captain honestly. In fact, he would do everything in his power to ensure that Rukia was happy and safe for as long as they were in Soul Society together.

Rukia closed her door and locked it securely before sliding towards the floor with her back against the door like a lovestruck teenager. Not even the ominous report she had to complete tonight could dampen her spirit. Never in her life had she disobeyed her brother's instruction before and she had to admit she felt naughty, although she also felt free and liberated too. For the first time in a long time her soul no longer felt icy cold and she started to look forward to the future.

* * *

Byakuya awoke with a start in a cold sweat. Immediately he sat up on the futon and started searching for Rukia's and Ichigo's reiatsus, relief washing over him as he found Rukia in her quarters at Division 13 and Ichigo at Ugendo with Captain Ukitake.

He had just had the most disturbing nightmare that The Boy had been kissing his sister and it had unsettled him greatly. Rukia's close relationship with The Boy had always concerned him, but at least until tonight he had always had the reassurance that they resided in two different worlds. Now that The Boy was in Soul Society permanently his soul was troubled. If The Boy so much as touched his sister...

* * *

_Ok, so this was originally going to be the final chapter (the story description does day "first night"), but I've just got any idea for an Epilogue which I think will tie things off better and I'm hoping to get that written and posted next weekend._

_Hope you enjoyed the chapter! _


	9. Chapter 9

_So some of you may be pleased to know that I have decided to continue with this story and hopefully tie it off a bit better than I originally had planned. I hope you enjoy! _

**_Disclaimer: _**_Guess what? I still don't own Bleach or any of its characters! _

* * *

Ichigo collapsed onto his bed with a groan. Thank Kami it was the weekend! He couldn't remember the last time his body had ached this badly and not even the steaming hot shower he'd just taken had helped. For the past week he'd undergone an induction into the Spiritual Arts Academy and he'd endured test after test which had allowed the instructors and teachers of the Spiritual Arts Academy to assess his knowledge and skills. It seemed that Yamamoto had taken a special interest in him and had sent the best of the best to assess his zanjutsu, hakuda and hoho skills, Yamamoto himself had insisted on taking the zanjutsu assessment, whilst sending Soi Fon to conduct the hakuda assessment and Byakuya to conduct the hoho examination.

He was proud to say that he had held his own against Yamamoto in zanjutsu and the Head Captain had personally passed him out of the class as a zanjutsu expert. He had initially held his own with Soi Fon in the hakudo assessment and was grateful for all the martial arts classes he had taken as a child, but he had to admit the petite Captain was vicious and she had ended up kicking his butt. Although she had not remained unscathed by their battle and by the end of the assessment he could see she had a new respect for him, as he had for her. After her assessment he had been placed in the advanced class of the 6th Year to refine his skills.

Things with Byakuya had not gone smoothly though. Much to his dismay he'd kept losing concentration as his mind kept flashing back to what had happened between him and Rukia and he'd become slightly paranoid that somehow Byakuya knew what had happened. For the first time he had viewed Byakuya as Rukia's older brother, rather than an enemy, and along with feeling guilty over taking part of Rukia's innocence, he also felt fear of what Byakuya would do to him if he ever found out what had happened between him and Rukia. Although logically he knew he would be able to fight and beat Byakuya to defend Rukia's honour, a small part of him felt like he shouldn't even try to fight him as he had disrespected the noble traditions. Even he knew that his performance during the session had not been up to par and he had a feeling that Byakuya suspected something had been off with him that day too, although he had reluctantly agreed that Ichigo could be placed in the advanced 6th Year hoho class.

Although he had learned to control his spiritual pressure over the past 20 years and he could sense it a lot better than he could when he first became a substitute soul reapers, he'd been surprised to find it was only at 4th Year level and he had been placed in that class accordingly. Needless to say the rest of his assessments had not gone too well as he had limited knowledge at best of kido, the history of Soul Society, the laws of Soul Society, the geography of Soul Society etc etc and the bulk of his class timetable was taken up with these subjects. He had no idea how he was going to learn 6 years worth of history, law, and goodness knows what else in what remainder of the academic year, but one thing he knew for certain was that he was going to do it. He'd only been at the Spiritual Arts Academy a week but already he was sick of it.

Fortunately joining the school mid-term and being in numerous years for various subjects had meant he'd been allocated one of the private rooms that were normally reserved for guests of the Academy. However, he still had to eat his meals in the food hall with his fellow students and he hated that area the most. It seemed that news of his arrival had spread quickly and he had become somewhat of a "celebrity" amongst his peers, after all, it wasn't every day that you got to go to school with the saviour of Lady Rukia Kuchiki, or the only soul reaper who had been able to defeat the corrupt former Captain Sosuke Aizen. The guys looked at him with a mixture of awe and competitive, whilst the girls had swooned over him, his trademark scowl not being enough to scare them away.

If anything, his time at the Academy had made him more home sick for the living world than anything else. He missed the banter of his work colleagues every day and the feeling of doing good in the world whenever he arrested a murderer. He missed having beers with his friends and the luxuries of the living world such as being able to watch sports on TV whilst slumped on a comfortable couch. He missed the freedom of being able to do what he liked when he liked, and above all else, he missed his family - even his crazy old man.

Days at the Academy were bearable at least as he'd had other things to concentrate on, but the evenings and nights had been the worst as he'd been unable to stop his mind wondering back to that fateful night and thoughts of his family.

He couldn't help but ask himself, why him? Why had Karin called when she did? Why hadn't he kept her talking longer? Why hadn't his boss put up more of a fight about him taking some unexpected time off work? Why hadn't he gone home to pack first? If he'd only been 30 seconds later he wouldn't have made that train and he probably wouldn't be where he was now. It all seemed so unfair! He was still young and there had so much that he had wanted to achieve. He'd had a future planned out, damn it, and it had all been taken away in a blink of an eye! He just felt so angry over the whole situation.

And then there was his family. When he'd entered the senkaimon to return to Soul Society that fateful night there had been no signs of the emergency services at the crash site and he wondered if they'd managed to recover his body yet. The train had crashed in such a remote location that he just hoped they would be able to find his body and return it to Karakura so that his family could finally get closure on what had happened, although the thought of his family having to see his disfigured body sent chills through him. The last thing he'd wanted was to cause his family more grief or anguish or disrupt their lives further, after all, they should be celebrating the birth of little Ichigo and Karin's soccer tour of Europe, not mourning his death.

However, the more he thought about his death and the circumstances surrounding it, the fewer answers he found. If anything, more and more questions popped into his head - Did Karin decide to go on her European soccer tour? How was Yuzu coping with the new baby? Was his Dad behaving himself? Did his nieces and nephews understand what was happening and why everyone was so upset? Did Karin blame herself for calling him when she did? Did Yuzu blame herself for going into labour early, after all, if little Ichigo had been on time he wouldn't have been on that train? That day he had been in the office prepping for a court case so the chances were he wouldn't have been injured in that earthquake if Yuzu hadn't gone into labour and if Karin hadn't called him.

Damn! Come to think of it, did the case against that scumbag succeed without his testimony? His testimony was going to be one of the lead pieces of evidence as he'd been the first to arrive on scene and had discovered the bastard in a vicious rage still stabbing his pregnant wife. It had been heart wrenching to watch the woman and her baby's souls reluctantly separate from her body as he'd tried to secure her husband and stop him from landing anymore fatal blows, but alas, he had arrived too late. Later on he had discovered the scumbag's two older children stabbed to death in their bedroom closet - a place they had obviously gone to hide - and it had taken all his self control not to drag the guy out of the cop car he had been placed in and beat the bastard to death. It had been one of his most trying cases not only as a cop, but as a soul reaper too. After the fucker had been taken away and whilst Forensics had been gathering evidence, he'd managed to gather the souls of the wife and children and they'd told him exactly what their husband/father had done.

Apparently the wife had discovered her husband had been having an affair and when she'd confronted him about it he had gone on a mad rampage which had resulted in the bloodbath Ichigo had first encountered. The women and children were so upset, confused and scared, but he had managed to perform a konsol on them altogether and he hoped that they had all arrived in Soul Society together and were now living together peacefully somewhere. The wife should have had her baby by now and he hoped the child had arrived safely.

If that case ever fell apart because he wasn't there to testify he didn't know what he would do with himself and he could feel the resentment and anguish start to burn in him once again. Why him and why now?

A knock at the door interrupted Ichigo from his depressive thoughts and he groaned internally at the thought of who could be on the other side. His somewhat celebrity status at the school had garnered him quite a following of female fans and for the past week he had had more than one female student knocking at his door asking if he needed anything, or whether he needed a tutor in a vain effort to try and get close to him. He'd declined them all as politely as possible, after all the only woman he wanted was Rukia, and tonight would be no exception. Perhaps if he just laid here quietly then whoever it was would go away...

Another loud banging on the door had Ichigo sighing internally and he tried to read the visitor's reiatsu, his brow furrowing into a crease when he realised that he could not sense who was beyond the wooden door. That only lead him to believe it was one of the students from the uppers years who had the skill to hide their reiatsu, or one of the teachers, neither of which he fancied talking too right now. He did not feel inclined to get up and investigate and he simply clamped down his spiritual pressure as tightly as he knew how.

"Oi Ichigo! Hurry up and open this thing will ya?! It's freaking me out being back in this place again!" came a loud male voice.

Ichigo eyes widened and his body started as he heard the familiar voice and the door rattled once again as the person on the other side became frustrated and banged the door.

"Yeah, hurry up Ichigo. Your cutting into our valuable weekend time!" a muffled female voice drawled from beyond the door.

Was that...? No, it couldn't be, could it? Quickly Ichigo rolled out of bed, wincing as his muscles protested at such use, and opened the door to have his suspicions confirmed.

"Renji? Rangiku? What are you doing here?" he asked in disbelief.

"What's it look like baka?! It's your first weekend in Soul Society so we're taking you out to celebrate!" Renji stated simply.

Ichigo ran his hand through is head awkwardly. It wasn't like he wasn't pleased to see his old friends, it's just that all he wanted to do this weekend was catch up on some sleep after the gruelling week he'd just experienced, make a start on the classes he was already behind in, and take a walk around the grounds to try and figure out a way he could sneak out to see Rukia during the week. He just didn't feel like going out drinking all night, especially after his recent pondering.

"Er guys..." he began before being cut off by Rangiku.

"Uh..uh...uh. You're not going to be one of those goody two shoes who stays in the Academy all weekend and studies are you?" she drawled tauntingly.

Ichigo's brows furrowed further and he felt annoyance spark within him as he realised that's exactly what he had planned on doing "No, it's just that..."

"Well then, there's no problem then is there? You're still allowed out of the grounds on Friday and Saturday nights, right?" Rangiku asked feigning innocence.

Ichigo glowered at the woman in front of him before inspiration hit "It's not that I don't want to come out guys, it's just that there was a problem setting up my bank account and I haven't been paid yet. I don't have any money" he replied sympathetically, whilst rejoicing inside that he had a legitimate reason not to go. One thing he had been pleasantly surprised to find out during his induction was that as a student at the Academy he would be earning a small wage whilst he attended. "Maybe another time?"

"Don't be an idiot! It's not like we're expecting you to pay! What part of 'we're taking you out' don't you understand?" Renji informed him jovially. "Come on! Get ready!"

"Renji's right. We've been planning this ever since we found out what happened. Everyone wants to see you and Renji even managed to convince Rukia to come out tonight" Rangiku added.

Ichigo's brow creased in confusion "What do you mean you've managed to convince Rukia to come out? Doesn't she normally go out with you guys?" he asked curiously which caused both Lieutenants to snort.

"Outside of her shinigami duties that girl's life is pretty much controlled by Captain Kuchiki. Believe me, it's a miracle that Renji managed to not only convince her to come out, but also to convince Captain Kuchiki to allow her out" Rangiku informed him with a hint of distain in her voice.

"Yeah, apparently a Kuchiki Lady should never be seen in a bar" Renji added with the same distain.

Ichigo was shocked by the information he had just been given. Sure, when Rukia had stayed with him all that time ago she had spent a lot of time working, but they had both gone out frequently with their mutual school friends. She hadn't been wild, but she had enjoyed being social with everyone and the thought that her life here was restricted angered him. How dare Byakuya do that to his sister? Who gave him the right?

"Alright, I'll go" Ichigo replied darkly as he headed out the door. Suddenly he couldn't wait to see Rukia again as it seemed he really did know very little about her life here.

"You're going like that?" Rangiku asked with an eyebrow raised.

Ichigo realised with a start that both Rangiku and Renji were in normal clothes and he looked down and cringed inwardly as he realised he was wearing his school uniform. "I told you I haven't been paid yet and it's not like I've had a chance to go shopping since arriving here" he ground out.

"You can borrow something of Renji's" Rangiku stated simply as she turned and headed towards the exit.

"Wait..what!" both Ichigo and Renji exclaimed.

"Well do you have a better idea, hmmm?" she asked the two males innocently, not receiving any response. "I didn't think so and Ichigo can't go out in his uniform. We'll stop by Renji's on the way to the bar".

"Don't think I'm lending you anything nice" Renji stated grumpily as he started to follow Rangiku towards the exit.

"Don't think I'd want to wear your crappy clothes if I had a choice. Captain Kyoraku has a better fashion sense than you do" Ichigo ground out angrily.

"Why you...!" Renji yelled as he turned to attack Ichigo.

"Tsk, tsk, boys" came the sing songy voice of Rangiku "No fighting now, it'll only cut into our drinking time and mean that I'll have to wait for you both to change clothes. Now come on!"

Renji and Ichigo stared each other down for a moment longer before both turned and started heading out of the Academy once again.

* * *

_With regard to Ichigo getting paid, I couldn't find anything either way about students getting paid to attend the Spiritual Arts Academy. However, I did find out that s__oldiers do usually get paid during basic training so I figured that the students at the Academy might do too, after all they would have materials, books, clothes etc that they would need to buy whilst they are there. Anyway, the concept of getting paid works for the story so I'm going to use it. _

_Also, just to let you know there probably won't be an update next weekend as 2 of my relatives died withing 3 days of each other last week (one on my mother's side and one of my father's) so I will be travelling hundreds of miles next week/weekend with my parents visiting family and attending funerals (conincidently my relatives funerals follow one after the other even though they are not related! Makes it easier for us considering it's a 2.5 hour journey to their local crematorium, although the wakes are at different venues...). This is also the reason why this chapter and the next might not be up to their usual standard. _

_Reviews would be appreciated as always._


	10. Chapter 10

_Thank you for all you kind thoughts and wishes regarding me relatives and for the reviews, alerts and favourites. They have really cheered me up over the past two weeks, especially as I also came down with a fever/flu bug thing 10 days ago and I am still suffering the tail end of it now. :-(_

_Here's the next chapter of Moving On and it is very long so you might want to make yourself comfortable now. _

**_Disclaimer: _**_Don't own Bleach or any of the characters. _

* * *

Rukia shifted in her seat and nervously picked at the label on the bottle of drink she was holding. Although Byakuya did not approve of her visiting bars, Renji had dragged her out to a few in the past but she had never really enjoyed the atmosphere. Even though she was currently surrounded by some of her closest friends, albeit in one of the shadier establishments of the Seireitei, she still felt nervous and uncomfortable. However, that may be more to do with the reason she was at the bar, or should she say, the person behind the reason she was at the bar.

Ichigo.

The morning after he left for the Academy she had woken up full of doubt and she had spent the time since he had departed going over and over the conversation they'd had, the kisses they'd shared, and the information he'd told her about his life in the living world. He'd openly admitted to her that he'd had one night stands in the past and he'd even told her the reason he'd first kissed her was to have sex with her that night. Had everything he'd said after Captain Ukitake had left just been a rouse in the vain hope that he could have sex with her before he left for the Academy? Sure, at the time he had seemed so genuine and sincere, but she was completely inexperienced with matters of the heart and had he just been saying those things to get her to sleep with him? After all, he had been at the Academy for over a week now and not once had he come to visit her or tried to make contact with her.

There were also her own feelings and actions of that night to consider. Had everything she'd felt that day purely been as a reaction to him dying and the ugly reappearance of the crush she'd had on him 20 years ago? Their kiss had been her first, had she jumped to the wrong conclusion in thinking that not every kiss was like that? The more she'd thought about the situation, the more confident she became that she had only reacted that way because of the tragedy of the night and because of a stupid crush she had on him decades ago.

And then there was her job to consider. If Ichigo _was_ serious about them dating and if the feelings she'd experienced _had_ been true, if she got caught having an affair with a student then she would be stripped of her position and she would probably be placed in the Maggot's Nest. She had worked too long and hard to lose it all over whatever she might or might not feel toward Ichigo. Again, logic reasoned she should not see Ichigo anymore.

Not only that, but she had her position as a noble to consider. The Kuchiki's would probably disown her if she were caught having an affair, after all they had practically abandoned her when she had been sentenced to death all those years ago, and she would bring shame on the family name. After all the Kuchiki's had done for her and the time and money they had invested in her she could not fail the noble clan again. If anything, she owed it to the Kuchiki's to allow them to marry her off to some other noble clan. It was the least she could do really.

Once she had thought about everything that had transpired between her and Ichigo that night with a cool and logical head she had come to realise over the past few days that she had gotten swept up in all the emotions she had experienced the day Ichigo had died and come to the Soul Society permanently. Dating him, if in fact that is what he wanted from her, was an extremely bad idea. Perhaps once he graduated they could become friends again, but becoming romantically involved with him now or in the future was simply out of the question.

Now she just had to tell him that.

As if on cue her thoughts were interrupted by a cheer erupting in the bar and immediately her head snapped towards the door, her eyes widening as soon as her eyes fell on the orange haired male that occupied the entrance. She could barely see him due to the throngs of people that stood before her, but she could see his face clearly and she watched as Ichigo smiled and nodded awkwardly at the occupants of the room as they cheered his arrival. She watched as his eyes began to survey the room, never stopping or looking at the same face twice, that is, until his eyes met hers.

Rukia could have sworn that in the moment their eyes locked the earth stopped. In that moment it was just the two of them in the room, there was no singing, no cheering, no other soul reapers, it was just her and Ichigo. Her breath caught in her throat, she felt her heart rate quicken, her stomach clench, and that strange warmth flooded her body yet again. All thought, logic, and reason left her body as they continued to stare at one another, and in that moment Rukia Kuchiki knew that every valid reason she had thought of over the past few day for Ichigo and her not be together was in vain.

Because for the first time in her life her heart won over her brain.

* * *

Ichigo trudged through the streets of the Seireitei tugging at the kimono Rangiku had pulled out of Renji's closet for him to wear. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with it per se, in fact he was surprised to find that Renji had quite good fashion sense, it was just that he hated wearing kimono's and had rarely worn them in the living world. He sighed internally as he pulled at the material once again and he realised that this was what his wardrobe would likely consist of now that he was a permanent resident of Soul Society.

It had been over 10 minutes since they had left Renji's home and he had no idea where they were. Renji and Rangiku were in front of him leading the way through the twists and turns of the Seireitei and he had blocked out the conversation the two Lieutenants were having as he started to realise just how little he knew about the geography of Soul Society. Sure he knew there was the Seireitei and the Rukongai. He knew there was 320 districts in total in the Rukongai and that's where the souls who were not shinigami lived. He knew the Seireitei was where the Gotei 13 Barracks were based, where the homes of the high ranking officers were, and the nobility and Central 46 resided, but he didn't know anything else. He didn't know where the shopping district was, or where the good bars were, or where people hung out...and although he had been to Soul Society hundreds of time before, he had always been accompanied by someone. He was ashamed to say he hadn't really paid attention to his surroundings when he had been in the Seireitei before and he was starting to resent that fact now. Suddenly the importance of the Geography that were in his class schedule struck. At least with the class he may be able to walk between barracks without getting lost.

The longer they walked the more and more nervous he became. When Rangiku had first informed him that Rukia would be at the bar tonight he'd felt excited about the prospect of seeing her again, even if it was in a public area. But the closer they got to the bar, the more he started to doubt himself. It had been over a week since he had last seen her, had she changed her mind in the interim? After all, he had not heard anything from her since he'd been enrolled in the Academy. There was not one part of him that regretted his decision to date Rukia and he was serious about doing things properly once he left the Academy, and if that meant sucking up to Byakuya, then so be it. He had spent too long in his human life trying to find the "perfect" woman, and he wasn't going to waste his time in his afterlife. It may have taken him 20 years to realise it, but he was pretty sure Rukia was the only one for him and he was going to fight with all her had for her.

"Watch it!" Renji growled, startling Ichigo out of his reverie as he realised he had just walked straight into Renji and Rangiku.

"Sorry" Ichigo muttered distractedly which caused Rangiku to shoot him a questioning look.

"I thought you'd be happy to be here Ichigo?" she drawled.

"Or is the pressure already too much?" Renji challenged.

"Huh? No" Ichigo answered distractedly, causing the two Lieutenants to shoot a look of concern at each other. Ichigo not responding to Renji's taunts just wasn't normal.

"Look Ichigo, if you really don't want to be here..." Rangiku began.

"No, it's ok" Ichigo replied with a sigh before looking up and seeing they were at a bar "So is this where we are meeting everyone?" he asked trying to change to subject.

"Yep! Best sake in town!" Renji replied taking Ichigo's lead "Now come on, you'll feel better once you've got a shot down you!"

Rangiku opened the door to the bar and before he knew it Renji had shoved him inside and he was greeted by a round of cheers and chaotic singing. He tried to smile weakly to show his appreciation, but intentionally being the centre of attention had never really been his thing and he felt nervous. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to see Rukia, blow off the party, and go somewhere private so the two of them could be alone.

The room was packed with shinigami and he felt mild panic when he couldn't immediately identify anyone he knew, his eyes flittered over the room desperately searching for familiar faces and trying to find the two violet eyes he longed to see the most. He waved awkwardly as his eyes scanned over the room and he was surprised to see Komamura, Kensai, Shinji and Toshiro huddled together at the rear of the bar. Each Captain nodded as his eyes slide past theirs and Ichigo respectfully returned the nod. Izuru Kira, stood with Tetsuzaemon Iba, Shuhei Hisagi and Sentaro Kotsubaki at the bar and each Lieutenant raised their glass to him as his eyes met theirs, already the group were looking slightly worse for wear. Next his eyes wondered over to an attractive teenage girl with pink hair arguing with Kenpenchi who was perched on a barstool at the bar and he could tell that the Captain was mad by the expression on his face. He briefly wondered why Kenpenchi simply didn't take the girl outside and fight with her if she was annoying him so much, until he realised with a start that the pink haired girl was in fact Yachiru. He had to stop himself from laughing at the thought of Kenpenchi trying to deal with a stroppy teenage girl as he remembered his sisters and their hormones all too well. Next to the arguing pair stood Ikkaku and Yumichika who were looking rather nervous as Kenpenchi's face turned redder by the second.

His eyes continued to the right of the room and he saw Captain Unohara, Isane Kotetsu, Hanataro and Kiyone Kotetsu sitting at a table smiling at him happily and he returned the smile. As his eyes continued to the right he saw Captain Kyoraku sprawled in the far right hand corner of the bar with Lieutenant Ise and Captain Ukitake, and then finally he found the pair of eyes he had been longing for the most.

Rukia.

As soon as his eyes met hers everything seemed to fade into nothing and it was just the two of them. His heart rate increased, heat flooded through his body, and he could swear that he could feel the electricity crackling between them. The longing in his stomach intensified and he wanted to walk over to her, pick her up, and simply whisk her away to the outer reaches of the Rukongai just so it was the two of them. But alas it was not meant to be.

"Come on, let's get you a drink!" Renji yelled as he threw his arm over Ichigo's shoulder. Before Ichigo had time to react he felt himself being pulled towards the bar.

* * *

An hour and a half. That's how long Ichigo had been in the bar and he had made no effort to come and see her. Rukia had watched him at the bar as soul reaper after soul reaper came and welcomed him into Soul Society. She'd watched as he'd drunk with Renji, Rangiku, Kira, Shuhei, Tetsuzaemon and Sentaro. She'd watched as he'd said hello to Captains Hitsuguya, Muguruma, Komamura and Hirako. She'd tried not to stare as he'd greeted Kenpenchi, Yachiru, Ikkaku and Yumichika, although watching Kenpenchi challenge him to a fight had been amusing. Luckily for Ichigo Captain Unohara had reminded Kenpenchi of Head Captain Yamamoto's orders and smiled that smile of hers which had caused Kenpenchi to back off. Ichigo had then said hello to Captain Unohara and her table afterwards before promptly being called back to the bar by Rangiku.

So an hour and half later she was still sat with Captain Ukitake, Captain Kyoraku and Lieutenant Ise, yet she could not concentrate on the conversation they were having as each second that passed in which Ichigo continued to ignore their table, the more her heart broke a little. She had been stupid to think that Ichigo would have feelings for her and she was stupid to listen to her heart. Had she not learnt by now to always follow her head? She sighed as she reached for her drink only to realise that her bottle was empty.

"Does anyone want a drink?" she asked almost sadly as she stood up abruptly from the table startling her friends.

"What are you talking about Rukia-san? We still have a bottle of the finest sake right here?" Captain Kyoraku drawled lazily causing his Lieutenant to roll her eyes.

"I'll have a glass of water please?" Nanao asked her friend kindly before resuming her conversation with her Captain.

"I'm fine Rukia" Captain Ukitake nodded seriously. For a brief second she caught her Captain's eye and she could see that he knew she was upset that Ichigo had so far blanked their table "Are you?" he asked softly so that the other two occupants of the table could not hear.

Rukia simply nodded before she headed towards the bar, her slight figure and diminutive height making it difficult for her to make her way through the crowd. Reason number 1 why she hated bars: The crowds. Just as she was about to give up on her quest she felt an arm snake its way around her waist. Within seconds she had turned ready to kido blast the owner of said arm into oblivion, until she saw the orange hair of Ichigo Kurosaki standing behind the arm owners back.

"Why don't you leave the lady alone?" Ichigo warned menacingly causing the drunken soul reaper who had dared grab her to turn around.

She saw the soul reaper's eyes widen as he realised who exactly the orange haired man was. As if in slow motion he turned his head towards her, blinked, and promptly removed his arm from around her waist as he realised he had just man-handled Lieutenant Kuchiki, Lady of the great Kuchiki clan, and the adopted sister of Captain Byakuya Kuchiki.

"S...Sorry Lieutenant Kuchiki" the soul reaper ground out before swallowing hard and bowing down before her.

Reason number 2 she hated bars: Sleazy men. Rukia nodded once in acknowledgement of his apology and the drunken soul reaper scuttled away. She looked up at Ichigo and froze. All the anger, sadness, and rejection she had felt only moments before flooded from her body as she peered into Ichigo warm brown eyes and once again she felt her world stop.

"Are you ok?" Ichigo asked with concern as he willed his heart to stop beating so frantically and his breathing to return to normal. The woman before him looked stunning. He hadn't gotten a proper look at her before when he had first entered the bar, but now he could see her fully. Rukia's long hair fell in waves down her back and light make up adorned her face. She was wearing a dark purple kimono with a lilac flower pattern that flowed all around the bottom of the kimono with a lilac obi that completed the outfit. The colour of the kimono highlighted her indigo eyes and he was mesmerised by them.

Rukia swallowed hard. Being in close proximity to Ichigo was not doing anything good for her. His dark blue kimono clung to his chest and arms so tightly that she could see the sinew of practically every muscle in the upper part of his body and her mouth run dry and her blood filled with lust. She needed to get away from his intense gaze, his manly smell, and the heat she could feel emanating off of his body. She needed to clear her head and get her world back on its axis, so without answering him, she turned and stomped off to the bar.

Ichigo stared incredulously after the woman that had just left him in the middle of the bar. "Rukia!" he ground out as he followed her.

Rukia scowled at the bar as she reached it. Reason number 3 she hated bars: Her head and shoulder barely made it past the top of the bar making it incredibly difficult to get served. "Hey!" she yelled, not getting any response. "Hey!" she yelled again over the din of the bar before being interrupted.

"Oi, Rukia! I'm talking to you!" came the angry voice of Ichigo Kurosaki from behind her.

She felt his hand touch her shoulder and she immediately shrugged it off, ignoring the tingling sensation his touch had left on her skin. "Took you long enough" Rukia replied icily, relieved to feel in control once again. It appeared that as long as she didn't actually _look _at Ichigo she could be angry at him.

"Hey! I tried to get over to talk to you but people kept getting in the way" he defended himself.

"Oh, so that's why you managed to get to _every other table _except the one I was sitting at?" she replied angrily, being mindful that they were in a public place. "At least I know where I stand now" she replied coldly, sneaking a quick look at him.

"Rukia, do you think it was fun for me to have to listen to Renji, Rangiku and co rabbit on and on about whatever subject their drunken brain matter can think of? Every time I went to leave the bar either one of the Lieutenants would offer to buy me another drink, or some random soul reaper would come up and congratulate me on my arrival into Soul Society and offer me some pointless tip on how to survive the Spiritual Arts Academy" he replied glumly.

Rukia felt her resolve soften as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw the sad expression on his face, but still she continued to freeze him out.

"All I wanted to do tonight was come and see you" he added in a sorrowful whisper "But when Rangiku and Renji turned up I couldn't tell them that. Honestly Rukia, this whole time I've just wanted to come and whisk you away so we could spend an evening together, just us. But after my assessment with Byakuya I don't want to draw attention to us."

Rukia's eyes widened as she heard her brother's name "What do you mean 'after your assessment with Byakuya'? What the hell happened?" she demanded in a hushed whisper as she turned to face him.

Ichigo looked around desperately trying to find a place where the two of them could talk in private without drawing attention to themselves. The last thing he wanted now was for them to be caught sneaking out and for rumours to start about them, but he could not find anywhere. Sighing he continued their whispered conversation. "Byakuya was my hoho assessor and my concentration was...off... that day. I started to think that maybe he knew something had happened".

"What!" Rukia whisper shrieked as she clenched her hands by her sides. This was the worst thing that could have happened! If her brother knew about what had transpired between her and Ichigo he'd have a marriage arranged for her before she could even say engagement.

"I just kept thinking of everything that happened between us every time I saw him" he replied sheepishly as he ran a hand through his hair. "But he never said anything, and you know Byakuya, if he thought I had dishonoured the Kuchiki name he would have killed me there and then".

Rukia relaxed a tiny amount when she considered Ichigo's words. Byakuya would have had no issues with destroying Ichigo if he'd have known they had made out the other night. Just then she was jostled into the bar as a group of drunken soul reapers congratulated Ichigo. She turned to lecture the subordinate officers, but the melancholy look on Ichigo's face stopped her. He really did look uncomfortable and...sad. She watched as he graciously accepted their sentiments, but she knew him well enough to know that he was just being polite and her brow furrowed in consternation.

"Ichigo?" she questioned earnestly, her earlier anger forgotten.

Ichigo stared into Rukia's concerned eyes. If he couldn't trust her with what he was feeling, who could he trust? "This is all so weird" he stated softly "Everyone is celebrating my arrival, but I long for my human life still. I wasn't ready to die, it was so...unexpected. Sometimes I wish I was back home".

Rukia's heart clenched at the sorrow in Ichigo's eyes and her heart ached for him. Perhaps this was why souls arrived in Soul Society with no memory of their previous life. It enabled them to start afresh without having to grieve for their old lives. "I'm sorry Ichigo" she whispered sincerely "I wish...I wish this was easier for you"

Ichigo simply nodded before turning to the bar and signalling a barman "What did you want to drink?" he asked her cordially. "I mean, that was the reason you were heading to the bar, right?" he added with a crooked grin.

"A bottle of Coke and a glass of water please" she asked the barman, to which he nodded and turned to get on with her drinks order.

"I hate bars" she muttered under her breath.

"Is that why you never go to them?" Ichigo asked in what would appear to be a friendly tone if you didn't know him "Or is it because Byakuya doesn't let you?" he added with a slightly angry whisper.

Rukia flashed Ichigo an angry look. "Me not going to bars has nothing to do with Byakuya" she stated haughtily.

Before Ichigo could respond the barman arrived with their drinks. Rukia slammed down some cash on the bar, grabbed the drinks and stormed off back to her table, leaving Ichigo standing at the bar dumfounded. Immediately he followed after her intent on getting to the bottom of why she didn't go out with her friends.

"Ichigo!" came the drunken drawl of Captain Kyoraku as Ichigo approached the table "How is Academy life treating you?"

Ichigo's heart sank as he saw the other occupants of the table come into view and realised he would not be able to continue his discussion with Rukia. "It's been an adjustment" Ichigo replied with a rueful smile "But I don't start my actual classes until Monday. Good to see you again Captain Kyoraku, Captain Ukitake and Lieutenant Ise. Rukia" he greeted them all with a nod.

Rukia simply glowered up at Ichigo as she took a sip of her drink.

"How did your assessments go, Ichigo?" enquired Captain Ukitake "I heard that you gave both Captain Soi-Fon and Captain Kuchiki a run for their money".

Ichigo chuckled nervously "I guess, but they both ended up beating me. At least Yamamoto passed me out of zanjutsu"

"Impressive" Captain Ukitake complimented.

"Don't go working too hard though, Ichigo. Spring is just around the corner and the plum blossoms will be blossoming soon and they are just beautiful. All work and no plays makes a Soul Reaper a..." Captain Kyoraku drawled before being cut off by his Lieutenant.

"Captain!" Lieutenant Ise reprimanded her superior "There's no need for that type of language. Besides you should be encouraging Kurosaki-kun to study hard and graduate from the Academy as soon as possible. The sooner he graduates the stronger the Gotei 13 will be".

"But Nanao-chan..." Captain Kyoraku began in a drunken whine.

"She's right Shunsui" Captain Ukitake scolded his friend jovially. "Ichigo will make a fine soul reaper when he graduates from the Academy. Speaking of the Academy, isn't it almost curfew?" Captain Ukitake added.

Frantically Ichigo looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 10.45pm already. "Crap!" he exclaimed. Curfew was at 11pm and he would have to shunpo back to the Academy if he wanted to make curfew. "If was nice to see you all again, but if you would please excuse me..."

"Yare, yare" Captain Kyoraku waved him goodbye.

"It was nice to see you again Kurosaki-kun" Lieutenant Ise stated.

"Study hard Ichigo. Do you know where you are going?" Captain Ukitake asked him with concern.

Double crap! They'd stopped by Renji's apartment on the way here and he couldn't remember how to get back to the Academy now. "Actually..."

Captain Ukitake chuckled and shook his head and Ichigo swore he saw a mischievous glint enter his eye "I'm sure Lieutenant Kuchiki will be more than happy to accompany you, won't you Rukia?"

Rukia jumped as she heard her name being said, so self-absorbed she had been in doing her best to ignore Ichigo. "H...hai Captain?" she said in an unsteady voice.

Captain Ukitake smiled down at his Lieutenant. He had noticed the tension between the two as soon as they had arrived at their table and he thought that giving the couple a few minutes alone might be a good idea. "I was just saying that you wouldn't mind showing Ichigo back to the Academy as it appears he has not quite got his bearings around Soul Society yet?"

Rukia saw the knowing look in her Captain's eyes and felt the frustration grow within her as she realised she couldn't decline his order "No Captain, it's no problem" she ground out "Come on Ichgio" and with that she got up and stormed out the bar.

"Bye guys!" Ichigo yelled towards the bar where Rangiki, Renji and co were practically comatose with alcohol already and he wasn't surprised when he didn't receive a response.

Quickly he hurried out the door of the bar and was relieved to find Rukia still waiting for him. He had no idea why she was so mad at him for bringing up the control Byakuya seemed to have on her life.

"Look Rukia..." he began but was quickly cut off.

"Save it Ichigo" Rukia stated bluntly before shunpoing away and Ichigo quickly followed behind her.

Minutes later they arrived on one of the side paths that led up to the Academy and Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief when he realised he still had just over 5 minutes to go before curfew.

"You know the way from here" Rukia stated in a monotone voice which for some reason cut right through Ichigo's heart. He watched as she sighed and turned to shunpo away again.

"Rukia wait!" he exclaimed as panic overcame him. He couldn't let Rukia leave when she was pissed at him for some reason. He'd waited all week to see her and so far he had only managed about 10 minutes and that wasn't nearly enough.

Rukia sighed dejectedly as she turned towards him. "What do you want Ichigo?"

"I'm sorry if my question about Byakuya upset you. It's just.. it's just that I don't like the idea of him controlling you. If you don't go to bars because you genuinely don't like them, then fine. But if you don't go because he tells you not to, then we may have a problem" he stated gently but firmly with his trademark scowl written across his face.

Rukia looked up into Ichigo's eyes and Ichigo was taken aback by the dejection and sadness he saw in them. "I don't have as much freedom here as I did in the living world" she stated softly "I have duties and responsibilities that I have to abide by as a noble woman, and it's true that the Kuchiki's frown upon their women attending bars. Sometimes I wish I had never been adopted by the Kuchiki's" she whispered sadly as she turned her head away from Ichigo in shame. "But I can't turn back the time and they have done a lot for me. The only way I can repay them is by following and respecting their rules as best I can. That's why this is so wrong Ichigo. We shouldn't be doing this, _I_ shouldn't be doing this".

Nervously Ichigo looked around, and when he was confident that no one was in their vicinity, he gently grabbed Rukia's hand and held it in his. Relief washed through him when she didn't try to pull it away.

"Rukia, do you feel that?" he asked her softly "That connection, that current that's between us whenever we touch?"

Rukia nodded her head, but she still did not look at him.

"I've never felt that before and I want to explore what it means between us. I know the circumstances aren't ideal, but recently I've learnt not to take life for granted. I never had this connection in the living world and I'm not going to ignore it now that I have it here. Whatever this is Rukia, it's special" he stated earnestly. "But I'm not going to force you Rukia, if you can't do this because of you responsibilities then I'll walk away now and I'll let you be."

Not receiving a response from her, he sighed and swallowed down the lump in his throat and the burning feeling that was building in his eyes. Using every ounce of control he had he gently dropped her hand and turned towards the Academy "Bye Rukia" he stated softly.

Rukia's heart beat frantically and she swallowed down tears as she listened to Ichigo's words. She felt so conflicted. She wanted to do the right thing, to be the dutiful Kuchiki, to be the honourable Lieutenant, but at the same time her heart longed for Ichigo. Didn't she finally deserve some happiness, to do something purely for herself? As soon as he had held her hand her heart had felt so full of warmth and peace, and it reminded her of the way she felt when Kaien had been alive. But as soon as he let it go she felt so empty and cold again and she didn't want to feel that way anymore. Ichigo had once told her that she had stopped the rain, truth was, he'd done the same for her.

"Ichigo wait!" she stated in panic. She couldn't watch him walk away, she couldn't let her heart be broken because she hadn't _tried_ to make whatever was developing between them work. Why was she so mad about the comment he had made about Byakuya anyway? It was partially true after all.

Ichigo held his breath and slowly turned towards Rukia upon hearing her voice. The next thing he knew he had the petite shinigami in his arms and she was kissing him desperately and he returned the kiss with just as much need.

Suddenly the beating of a drum broke the stillness of the night signalling the curfew and both shinigami reluctantly broke apart.

"I...I have to go" Ichigo whispered reluctantly against Rukia's lips.

"I know" she whispered in return. "I'll try Ichigo. Us. This. I'll try"

A small smile broke out on Ichigo's face and he kissed her reverently. "Thank you" he whispered as he reluctantly let her go and prepared to shunpo towards the Academy's entrance before the last drumbeat sounded.

"Wait, Ichigo!" Rukia's desperate voice sounded behind him.

"What?" he exclaimed in frustration. He really needed to make that last drumbeat.

"How is this going to work, with us?" came Rukia's desperate voice.

"I...I don't know Rukia, but I'll think of something" he replied. And in a blink of an eye he was gone.

* * *

_Have to admit this wasn't exactly what I had planned out for this chapter as it's not my intention for them to have a rollercoaster relationship, but I kind of like the way it turned out anyway. It kind of lays the foundation for the next part of the story. I mean, Rukia wouldn't be Rukia unless she was trying to act like a Kuchiki and I think most woman freak out a little when they first meet a guy they really like. _

_Anyway, this is the last post before Christmas and I hope you all have a great time. Hope you enjoyed the read and I'll aim to post another chapter again next weekend before 2013 arrives (hooray that the world didn't end on the 21st by the way!). Until then..._


	11. Chapter 11

_Thanks for the reviews and the favourites, as always it means a lot and keeps me motivated to write. _

_Here's the next Chapter and it will be the last in 2012! I hope you enjoy it as it's in a different sytle than usual. _

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Nope, don't own Bleach and it wasn't one of my Christmas presents either. _

* * *

Rukia had never been so glad to see her quarters in the 13th Division in her entire life as a shinigami and she wanted to cry in relief and happiness at the sight of her futon. She had just returned from a 10 day trip into the outer eastern regions of the Rukongai after the 13th Division had been assigned to investigate the disappearance of practically an entire village. Her team and she had headed out the day after Ichigo's welcome party and it had quickly become apparent when they had reached the almost abandoned village that something inhuman had been attacking the residents.

That night they had got their first glimpse of the hollow.

It had been the most powerful hollow she had encountered since the Arrancars and its power was almost as great as an adjuchas. For 10 days they had hunted and attacked the hollow to no effect, but last night they had finally managed to capture it, and thanks to the combined efforts of her team and Sode no Shirayuki, it had been defeated. But not before it had claimed the life of one of her team - their 6th seat, Hidetomo Kajomaru . It had been the first time she had lost a team member whilst she had been in charge and the responsibility and guilt she felt was almost overwhelming. As soon as she had bathed and changed into her formal uniform Captain Ukitake and she would return Kojamaru's body to his family and assist them in making the funeral arrangements that was befitting of a seated officer.

As the commanding officer at the battle she also had to collaborate all of her colleagues statements and present a final report to both Captain Ukitake and Head Commander Yamamoto. Kajomaru's death was the first in several years for the 13th Division and she knew the investigation would be thorough. There was also the issue of appointing a new 6th seat whilst handling a Division in mourning as well as attending to the other injured members of her team who were currently in the 4th for treatment. She felt all the more guilty that she had escaped the battle with little more than cuts and bruises and a strained shoulder.

But selfishly all she wanted to do right now was bathe, sleep, and collapse into Ichigo's arms.

She had missed him greatly over the past 10 days and she had felt none of the insecurity she had the morning after he had arrived in Soul Society. She had always prided herself on being able to handle any situation and not needing to rely on anyone for support, but as much as she hated to admit it, right now a small part of her just wanted the comfort of Ichigo's arms around her, to feel his warmth envelop her and to inhale his manly scent, but alas it was not meant to be.

Tiredly she peeled the dirty and ripped uniform off of her body and entered her small bathroom, thankful not for the first time that her quarters came with its own private bathroom, as she could not face anyone right now. The warm water soothed her tired muscles and washed away the dirt and blood that had accumulated on her body over the past 10 days, but she knew she would not be able to relax fully until she had returned Kajomaru's body and faced Captain Ukitake and Head Captain Yamamoto. She also wondered apprehensively about what her brother would say about her failure to protect her team adequately. With a sigh she heaved her body out of the bath and wrapped a towel around herself, trying to ignore the cuts and bruises the latest mission had left on her body, and returned into the living area to read through the stack of post that had accumulated whilst she had gone.

Picking up the stack of letters, her brow creased in consternation when she didn't recognise the hand writing on one of the envelopes. Carefully she undid the seal and pulled out the sheet of paper:

_Dear Rukia, _

_I've just stopped by your barracks to see you but was told by Sentaro that you've been sent on a mission and he doesn't know when you'll be back. I hope you are ok? For some reason I can't find your reiatsu (or anyone elses for that matter?) and I hate that fact. I hate that I can't be with you but it motivates me to be done with this place as quick as I can. _

_Seeing as you're not around and my bank account has not yet been sorted out by the Academy I've been catching up on my studying. Boy does Soul Society have a lot of history and ancient laws! At least I won't have to worry about insomnia whilst I'm here with all these books to read! _

_I meant what I said yesterday, we'll make this work. Maybe we can't text, or e-mail, or Skype like we could in the living world, but it appears that good old post seems to still be working in Soul Society and I could do with practicing my handwriting again after all these years using a computer! _

_Thinking of you. _

_I._

Rukia's eyes filled with tears as she read his letter and she wiped them away quickly before they had a chance to fall. She would not cry. She was a Kuchiki for goodness sake! But the knowledge that even when Ichigo wasn't with her in person, he was thinking about her and worrying about her welfare was almost too much. Quickly she scanned the rest of her post and she realised there were 9 letters in total. He had written to her every day that she had been away and she had never been so grateful that Soul Society law mandated that an officer of the Gotei 13 had to have their personal quarters address listed in the Seireitei Address Book. Quickly she ripped each of the envelopes open and assembled the letters in date order so that she could read them.

_Dear Rukia, _

_Weekend life in the Academy is so boring when you have no money! I've spent this morning scouring the grounds trying to find a way that I can sneak out and see you, but to no avail. It looks like I may be only actually physically be able to see you at the weekends, but rest assured that I will be seeing you at any opportunity I get and thinking about you in the interim. _

_Apart from that there's not much to do here, so I've spent the day reading. I feel like I'm 15 years old again! Classes start tomorrow and I'm trying to catch up as much as I can before then. It's a pretty big task and at the moment it feels insurmountable, but I have no choice but to do it._

_I still can't feel your reiatsu and I hope you are ok?_

_I_

Rukia sighed as she remembered the boredom of Academy life. The pupils lived for the weekend and if Ichigo didn't have any money he would probably be stuck there alone and she felt her heart ache a little. How she wished to see him right now.

_Dear Rukia, _

_First day of classes today and as soon as they were done I just had to get to the gym to work some of the frustration out, but that was a mistake! Students (and teachers!) kept challenging me to zanjutsu fights as it has quickly spread round this place that Yamamoto passed me out as a zanjutsu expert. Eventually I ended up just going for a run (by run I mean an extended shunpo expedition around the Academy grounds) and I'm pretty sure that I could keep up with Byakuya now._

_At least I found out today why I can't feel anyone's reiatsu. Apparently the spiritual pressure of this place is hidden by kido to stop hollows attacking. Good for the students, but it does mean that students can't feel the reiatsu of the people outside of the Academy. I'm still worried about you though and I hope the mission is going well. _

_I_

Rukia could just imagine Ichigo being challenged to fights in the Academy as it was a competitive place to be, the fact that it appeared he had walked away surprised her though.

_Dear Rukia, _

_Spent most of the day stuck in history and law lessons today and the stupid law professor decided to conduct an impromptu test on us all. Luckily all the reading I had done at the weekend paid off as I managed to scrap a pass (by 3 marks, but a pass is a pass!). It sucks being at the bottom of the class though, because as you know, when I was at school I made pretty good grades. I suppose it is to be expected given that I've started part way through the academic year. More reading for me tonight though...joy!_

_Hope the hollows aren't giving you too many problems?_

_I_

She smiled yet again at reading of Ichigo's exam success. If he could pass a test now then it boded well that he would complete the Academy in record time.

_Dear Rukia, _

_Today I feel mentally and physically exhausted as a good part of my day was spent either shunpoing around Soul Society as part of my Geography lesson (and having to shunpo students with me who can't shunpo themselves), or practicing suppressing my reiatsu. I thought I'd gotten pretty good at hiding my reiatsu but after today's class exercises I've realised I've got a lot to learn. Kami it is exhausting having to suppress it for hours at a time! I'm completely ready to pass out but I still have some history and strategy homework to compete..._

_Tried searching for your reiatsu today whilst we were outside of the Academy and couldn't find it. Hope nothing bad has happened to you or I will have to kick that hollows butt?! _

_I_

Rukia rolled her eyes as she read the last sentence of Ichigo's letter, although a small spark of indignation and anger ignited within her too. Even after all this time and with her appointment as a Lieutenant he still thought he had to protect her. Although she rationalised that Ichigo's desire to protect was not just limited to her.

_Dear Rukia, _

_How do you make kido look so easy? Today I had my first lesson and completely humiliated myself when I not only blew up the target, but the wall behind it too! I've now been scheduled for extra lessons with the Sensei and I'm not sure my reputation with my fellow students will ever recover. _

_News of my little accident seems to have spread around the school like wildfire and I can see and hear everyone talking about me again. Just as everything was starting to settle down and I was beginning to be treated as any other student, this happens. Grrr!_

_Still can't believe you're not back yet. _

_I_

Rukia had to bite back a laugh as she thought of Ichigo blowing up a wall. The guy had so much spiritual pressure that if it wasn't controlled properly then he would be dangerous. She hoped the extra lessons would help and maybe she could tutor him a bit too if they got time.

_Dear Rukia, _

_The weekend at last! _

_I've finally been paid (hooray!) and I'm off with some of the fellow students tonight into the Rukongai - after this week I definitely need to let off some steam!_

_Starting to worry that I still haven't heard from you. Are you still out hunting hollows or are you ignoring me?_

_I_

Rukia smiled at the thought of Ichigo going out with his fellow students, and she had to admit a small part of her was relieved too. She'd not made many friends in the Academy as she had been so focused on beating Renji and a part of her regretted that. Many weekends she'd watched longingly as large groups of friends would go out drinking, but her friends had been the "geeks" and they had spent their weekends in the Seireitei tea shops studying or practicing their skills in the school grounds. Renji had invited her out with his friends a few times and she'd gone drinking with them if only to spend time with her old friend, but she had never really felt like she'd belonged in his group. She was glad that Ichigo was making friends.

_Rukia, _

_Alcohol evil. Head hurts. Stomach sick. Never drinking again. _

_I_

Rukia chuckled as she read Ichigo's hungover letter. She remembered her first taste of Rukongai alcohol and the resulting hangover. She hadn't been able to move for two days afterwards and she was surprised he's been able to focus his eyes long enough to write a letter. She picked up the last two letters and continued reading.

_Dear Rukia, _

_Kami is Rukongai alcohol toxic! Still not feeling 100% today but I couldn't afford another day in bed._

_Returned Renji's kimono to him today (he lent it to me the night of my Welcome Party as I didn't have any clothes to wear) and he told me you're still on your mission. He didn't have much information, but said it was something to do with villagers going missing? Be careful. _

_On the way back I bumped into Rangiku and she dragged me shopping when she realised I was wearing my Academy uniform. Boy can that woman shop! Mind you, seeing as I was still hungover it was pretty good not to have to think about what clothes to buy and to let an expert like Rangiku do it. Have to admit I'm impressed with what she chose, although I'm pretty sure my bank balance took a nasty hit! At least I have something other than my Academy uniform to wear now even if they are stupid kimonos and hakama. Why can't Soul Society just import some jeans and tee-shirts from the living world? Don't they know how much more comfortable they are?_

_Well better get back to studying. Not being able to move yesterday set me behind and I have a feeling I will be pulling an all nighter tonight. _

_I _

A small smile lifted Rukia's mouth as she thought of Ichigo wearing kimono's. She remembered when she was in the living world and staying with the Kurosaki's how much Ichigo hated wearing them for formal occasions. He would have to get used to it now though as traditional outfits were still the norm in Soul Society even after all this time.

_Dear Rukia, _

_I'm so tired. Ended up pulling an all nighter to get all my work done and managed about an hours' sleep last night. How I stayed awake during history and law today I'll never know! This afternoon was spent in hakudo and hoho lessons so at least the activity kept me awake. _

_I can't believe you have been gone for 10 days already. I guess whatever it is you are investigating is nasty? I wish I was out of here so that I could help you. _

_Stay safe. _

_I _

Rukia was overcome with emotion as she finished reading his letters. She could sense Ichigo's reiatsu from the paper and even that tiny amount was filling her with warmth and comfort, and try as she might, she couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes. Yet again she reminded herself that she was a Kuchiki and Kuchiki's do not cry. She was beyond exhaustion, she was upset about Kajomaru, and truth be told, she was scared about what would happen to her now as his death was ultimately on her shoulders. There was no way that she could see Ichigo until at least the weekend, so there was only one thing she could do.

_Dear Ichigo, _

_I'm back. _

_I wish I could say the mission went well, but it didn't. We killed the hollow, but we lost our 6th seat...I lost our 6th seat. It's the first time one of the 13th's soul reapers has been killed whilst I've been in command and I feel so responsible. Logically I know there was nothing more that could have been done, and he died doing what he loved, what he trained to do, but I keep thinking that if only I had done something different. Would it have changed things? Would he still be alive if I'd given a different command? Now I have to notify his family of his death with Captain Ukitake, help his family with the funeral, report the circumstances of the battle and his death directly to Captain Ukitake and Head Captain Yamamoto, and find a new 6th seat. It's all so overwhelming...and I wish you were here. _

_Finding your letters on my return made me so happy. The past 10 days have been horrible and knowing that you were thinking of me that whole time touched me. Thank you Ichigo._

_Perhaps you are right when you said in your first letter that we can communicate with good old Soul Society post. I meant what I said the last time we saw each other too. I'll try. _

_I have to go now, but I won't hide my reiatsu this weekend so you should be able to find me once you are outside of the Academy. _

_Thinking of you too. _

_R. _

_PS: Your kido sounds as good as Renji's! _

_PPS: Yes, Rukongai alcohol is strong but you'll get used to it._

_PPPS: Listen to Rangiku, the woman know what she is talking about! _

_PPPPS: Congratulations on passing your test._

Carefully Rukia placed the letter in an envelope and addressed the letter as per the return address on Ichigo's letters, noting with interest that he seemed to have been allocated one of the single rooms at the Academy. She dressed in her formal uniform and placed Ichigo's letter in her jewellery box that was kept in her private safe and was also heavily protected by kido spells. She picked up her letter before shunpoing to the Division Headquarters where she was due to meet Captain Ukitake, remembering to deposit the letter in the Division's post box along the way.

For the first time in a long time she simply could not wait for the weekend.

* * *

_Happy New Year everyone! Next update in 2013..._


	12. Chapter 12

_Happy 2013 everyone!  
_

_As always, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favourites. _

_Here is the first post of 2013 and I hope you have fun reading it, although it is quite long. _

_Just to warn you, there is mention of an insinuation of rape in this chapter, but it's only very mildly and I don't think it should offend. However, if you're not sure whether you want to read the chapter I have explained in the footer what actually happened, so you can scroll to the bottom and read the "spoiler" so you can decide whether you want to read the chapter or not without actually having to read it. Hope that makes sense?!_

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach, but I do own some nice holiday brochures which are currently making me very happy! _

* * *

Ichigo cursed as he threw his school books on his desk. All he had wanted to do today was finish his classes for the week and go and see Rukia to reassure her that Kajomaru's death was not her fault, but no. He just had to go and blow up another wall in his kido class today, and his tutor just _had_ to decide that this evening was the best day to start his extra tuition. It was Friday for goodness sake! Didn't the guy have a life? He'd only been here 2 weeks and already he had places to go and people to see! Casting a glance at his clock he cursed yet again as he realised that it was 10.58pm and he was therefore unable to go out tonight and see Rukia without breaking curfew. He just couldn't risk the lost credit he would receive as punishment for breaking curfew as he needed all the credit he could get if he was going to graduate this place within a year.

He'd received her letter the day after she had got back from her mission and was initially relieved to find that she was alive and well, as after not hearing from her for so long he had started to worry that something had happened to her or that she was having doubts about their relationship yet again. However, the initial relief had been replaced with hatred at the fact that he had not been there to reassure and comfort her when she needed it the most, and it had frustrated him that the only thing he could do was write another letter back to her, which he had done do immediately. He'd not heard anything from her since, but he assumed that as the 13th Division's Lieutenant she would have to inform Kajomaru's family of his death, help arrange the funeral and there would no doubt be countless forms for her to complete, so it wasn't really surprising that he had not heard from her. It didn't make him feel any better though.

Growling in frustration he kicked a book that had been lying on his floor across the room and agitatedly got ready for bed. If he couldn't see Rukia tonight then he was damn well getting out of this place first thing in the morning to see her.

* * *

Early morning sunlight poured into Ichigo's room the next day as he finished getting dressed and he all but shunpoed out of the grounds of the Academy, relief flooding through him as he located Rukia's reiatsu after a few seconds of searching. However, her reiastsu was very weak and she seemed to be miles away, in the outer regions of Rukongai if he was not mistaken, and he wondered what she was doing out there. Had she been sent on another mission already?

His curiosity piqued, he quickly shunpoed towards Rukia reiatsu and minutes later he found himself standing in front of a large ramshackle wooden building. He imagined that originally the building had been used as a warehouse, but the sign on the front of the building quickly told him what the building was now used for: _The Hisana Orphanage._ He checked again to ensure that he had in fact traced Rukia's reiatsu correctly, and once satisfied that he had, he hesitantly pushed the door open and jumped slightly as a bell tinkled from above him.

"Coming!" came a gruff female voice from the distance.

Thirty seconds later a stout elderly woman wearing grubby rags for clothing came into the foyer where Ichigo was standing. "Can I help you?" she asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice, casting her eyes up and down Ichigo as if sizing him up.

"I'm looking for Rukia Kuchiki?" he asked the woman hesitantly.

"Rukia? How do you know Rukia?" the woman asked again with the same suspicious tone.

"We're old friends" Ichigo replied calmly not liking the way the woman was staring at him. "She told me I could find her here". So maybe that wasn't exactly the truth, but her letter had said she wouldn't be hiding her reiatsu this weekend so he could find her.

"Really?" the woman replied doubtfully as she raised one of her eyebrows at Ichigo and crossed her arms across her chest "Oi Rukia! Got a guy out 'ere who says he's looking for ya?" the woman yelled, never taking her eyes off Ichigo.

Rukia sighed irritably as she heard the Matron, Natsumi Saito, call for her. "I'll be right back Mai, ok? You're safe here, don't worry" she whispered to the badly injured child beside her. The small girl looked up at her sorrowfully before nodding and snuggling herself into her make shift bed.

"Who is it?" she exclaimed irritably as she walked into the foyer "If it's the Yakuza again tell them we're not interested. Can't they remember what happened last time..."

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise as she saw who was before her "Ichigo! Wh..what are you doing here?"

Ichigo started in surprise as Rukia appeared before him. Her long hair had been scrapped back into a messy bun, dirty smeared her skin, and she was wearing what could only be described as rags. She wasn't even wearing shoes! "You told me to come find you in your letter, remember?" he stated awkwardly.

Rukia cursed to herself. He was right. She had wanted him to find her, but not here. How had she forgotten to mask her reiatsu whilst she was here?

"Y..you're right" she stammered before regaining her composure "But you can't stay here looking like that! Come here." she added in a panic as she grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the foyer and further into the premises.

"Here, put these on" she stated firmly as she dragged Ichigo into a storage cupboard and shoved what appeared to be some stained worn out clothing into Ichigo's hands before turning to leave.

"Wait! Rukia, what's going on?" Ichigo asked in a panic "Why can't I stay dressed as I am?"

Rukia looked at him incredulously "You can't wear those clothes in Inuzuri. You'll be mugged before you know it and we can't draw any more attention to this place. Now just get changed and don't forget to take off your shoes!" she demanded before turning and heading back out into the building.

Ichigo stared after the woman incredulously before looking down at the "clothes" in his hands. Quickly he headed out after Rukia.

"Hey!" he yelled indignantly.

Rukia turned round at the sound of Ichigo's voice, anger building inside her when she realised that he was still in his Seireitei clothing. Sighing in frustration she stormed back towards him.

"Ichigo, you're in the 78th District. The people here...they have no money, no food, nothing! You wear those clothes and people will think you have money. And if they think you are bringing money here then they'll come here too, and we can't afford that. Now just get changed and I'll explain it all to you later!" she explained hurriedly before turning round and heading back in the original direction.

Stunned, Ichigo reluctantly returned back to the storage cupboard and hesitantly changed clothes. The cloth barely covered him, and although he could tell they were clean and had been washed, they were faded and stained and he felt extremely uncomfortable. For all the complaints he had about being sent to the Academy he was starting to realise how much worse it could have been if he had been sent to the outer regions of the Rukongai. He had never been this far out before, but he had learnt from his Geography lessons that the outer regions were extremely dangerous and that the Yakuza pretty much ruled the area. From what he could recall, the 78th District was probably rougher than the toughest inner city areas of Tokyo that he had had to patrol back in the living world when he was a cop. He shuddered when he remembered that Kenpachi Zaraki was from somewhere in the 80th district and he started to realise why Rukia would not want anyone like him, or the Yakuza, drawn to the orphanage.

Leaving his clothes in the storage cupboard, he gingerly stepped out into the hallway and could immediately hear the sound of children's voices. With no other clue as to where Rukia may be, he followed the noise until he found himself at the rear of the premises in what appeared to be a children's play area of sorts. Kids where playing ayatori, nawatobi, hana ichi monme, and there were even a few bidama. A small group were playing football too and overseeing all the activity was the same woman who had greeted him in the foyer standing next to a man he assumed to be her husband.

As soon as he appeared in the doorway the man marched towards him with a stern look on his face. "Rukia is in the infirmary and she wants you to meet her there. Go back down the hallway, turn right and it's the second door on the left" he informed him swiftly.

Ichigo simply nodded at the instructions and followed the directions, quickly arriving at what he assumed to be the infirmary. Tentatively he opened the door and let himself into the dimly lit room, his brow furrowing immediately in consternation and anger at the sight before him. Rukia's hands were aglow with a healing kido and she was slowly and gently moving them over the small child that was in front of her. The child was covered in cuts and bruises and he could clearly see she had a broken leg, a bruise in the shape of wooden plank was clearly evident where the bone was broken and Ichigo's blood started to boil.

"What happened?" he demanded in a quiet, deadly voice as he headed towards Rukia and the young girl. Almost immediately the young girl's eyes widened with fear and tears started to fall out of them as she curled herself into a tiny ball as if to protect herself, a sharp cry coming out of her throat as she tried to move her injured leg.

Rukia shot him a warning look that froze him in place "Shhhh Mai, it's ok. That's Ichigo, he's my friend. I promise he won't hurt you" she soothed the child in a soft, comforting voice. "It's ok Mai, you're safe I promise. No one will hurt you here" she continued as she gently caressed the girl's head to soothe her.

Hesitantly two small red rimmed, tear filled, eyes appeared from over the top of the blanket the girl had been using as a shield "Prwomise?" she whispered.

"I promise, Mai. I'll protect you no matter what, ok? So will Ichigo, and Natsumi, and Yoshio, and Mieko, and Masa." Rukia continued in the soft soothing voice as she gently rubbed the girl's back. Slowly the young girl lowered the blanket until the whole of her face was showing, her features arranged in a look of pure apprehension.

"Ok" she whispered uncertainly.

"Ok" Rukia confirmed with a smile. "Now I'm going use the magic medicine on your leg now to make it better. It might feel a little strange and it might hurt a little, but I promise it will make it better in the end, ok?"

The small girl nodded apprehensively as she clutched the worn blanket tighter. Gently Rukia lifted the girl's leg onto her lap and immediately cast a healing kido as she worked her hands over the broken bones. Almost immediately Mai started to whimper and tears appeared in her eyes once again.

Ichigo watched the scene unfold in front of him in awe. Never had he heard Rukia use that tone of voice with anyone before, it was almost...maternal. She was so patient and soothing to the little girl, again something he had never witnessed before, and something inside him warmed as he watched Rukia mother the small girl. But as soon as she started to heal Mai's leg he heard the small child whimper and he couldn't stand still any longer.

"Hey Mai. Do you want to see a puppet show?" he asked the small girl softly in an effort to distract her.

Mai raised her eyes up to meet his looking at him suspiciously. "We don't have any puppets" she whimpered in confusion.

"Don't we? Look at the wall Mai" he instructed her. Carefully he arranged his hands and turned slightly so that the shadow of his hands could be seen on the wall. Sure enough on the wall was a silhouette of a bunny hoping along which caused the girl to giggle slightly. Ichigo smiled at the sound and immediately launched into a puppet show with his hands, something he often did for his nieces and nephew when he'd visited them in Karakura.

Half an hour later the glow from Rukia's hands finally stopped. "She asleep?" Ichigo asked quietly, not having heard anything from Mai for a while.

Rukia turned toward Ichigo and offered him a small smile as she nodded her head before turning back to the small girl "Rest now Mai-chan" she whispered softly as she swept her hand through the girl's hair, although she could not bring herself to leave the small girl's side.

"How's she doing?" Ichigo asked as he came and sat down on the floor beside Rukia and Mai.

"I've healed her skull, liver, lungs and leg which were the life threatening injuries she had. The others are less serious and I'll work on them a bit later. She needs to rest now" she muttered distractedly.

Ichigo observed Rukia with interest. He had never really seen her around children when she was in the living world, with the exception of his sisters, and he was surprised at just how nurturing she was. When she'd been tutoring him her method of teaching was to hit, punch, kick or stamp on him, but with Mai she had been softer, calmer, more reassuring and comforting - and she had simply amazed him. He had never seen her expression so fixed and determined, yet soft and caring at the same time as she stared at the child before them.

Ichigo reached up and gently caressed Rukia's check before turning her face towards his. He was surprised to see how tired she looked. "You ok?" he asked with concern.

Rukia nodded weakly "Yeah, it's been a long week and her injuries were quite serious. The kido has drained me a bit" she admitted reluctantly.

"Kajomaru?" he enquired tentatively.

Rukia nodded "His family didn't take the death well and the funeral yesterday was extremely tiring. He was well loved by his family, and the 13th" she stated wistfully.

"What did Ukitake and Yamamoto say?" he asked gently.

"That the strategy I'd used to defeat the hollow was acceptable and that his death was in the line of duty. There was no blame on my part, or any other soul reapers" she replied hollowly.

Ichigo stared at the women before him. Even in the dim lighting of the room he could see she was pale and there were dark bags under her eyes, even her normally proud shoulders were slightly drooped. How could he have missed all those signs before? "You should rest" he stated simply and was surprised when Rukia agreed with him.

"I'll rest here. I can't leave her right now" she stated quietly, but with determination.

"What happened to her?" Ichigo asked quietly.

Rukia sighed dejectedly as she turned her head back to look at Mai "One of the shopkeepers found her this morning outside their store and his wife brought her here. She said they'd heard shouting and screaming outside their shop last night but they were too scared to see what was going on outside - they're good people, but old. I imagine one of the yakuza beat her up, probably as an initiation."

Anger flashed through Ichigo "What?" he demanded, his tone low so not as to disturb the sleeping child.

"It's commonplace out here. As a child you are the lowest of the low and you are seen as...expendable. You either keep your head down as a child and try and keep out of everyone's way, or you join the yakuza. It's hard living here if you're not part of the yakuza. There's hardly any food or drink available, most of the adults would rather sell a child than look after it, and the lowest of the low prowl around looking for fights or...fun". Rukia practically spat the last word out with disgust.

Ichigo's eyes widened at Rukia's insinuation "You..you don't think she was...?"

Rukia shook her head "No, she wasn't bleeding _there_ when she came in and I did a full body analysis using kido before I started treating her. Thankfully that area of her doesn't appear to be injured. She's lucky to be alive though, most of the initiations for the local yakuza require you to kill someone. Whoever did this either lost their nerve halfway through or was disturbed".

Ichigo stared at Mai in shock. "How come you know so much about this?" Ichigo asked darkly as he turned back to face Rukia.

"This is where Renji and I grew up" Rukia replied simply.

Confusion overcame Ichigo. "So, what are you doing back here now?" he asked curiously. "Byakuya doesn't let you go to bars in the Seireitei, but he lets you come here?" he couldn't help but add sarcastically.

Rukia threw Ichigo the coldest look he had ever received. "My decision not to go to bars has nothing to do with Byakuya" she snapped at Ichigo before turning her head back to Mai. Almost instantly her expression soften and she looked like she was deliberating something.

"How much do you know about my adoption into the Kuchiki clan, Ichigo?" she asked him guardedly.

Ichigo paused and thought before responding with a shrug "Not much really. All I know is that you were adopted into the great Kuchiki clan about 70 years ago."

Rukia eyed him wearily before she continued resignedly. "Byakuya's wife, Hisana, was my biological sister. Apparently we died at the same time and were sent to the Soul Society together, but I was only a baby and Hisana couldn't look after me. One day she left me on someone's door step and abandoned me. Luckily I was found by Natsumi - that was the woman you met earlier - and she took me in. She looked after me for as long as she could, but eventually she and her husband, Yoshio, had their own children and they could no longer afford to look after me."

"They chucked you out?!" Ichigo exclaimed.

Rukia shrugged "More like I realised they couldn't afford to look after me anymore and I left, there were no bad feelings and I still continued to visit them when I could. I was about 10 at the time so I could look after myself and eventually I managed to find a bed in a stable with a group of other kids. Not long after I met Renji and his friends and we all started living together so it wasn't as bad as it sounds. It's just the way life is out here.

Anyway, according to Byakuya, Hisana regretted abandoning me and later that very same day she came back to the area she had left me, but I had gone. Ever since then she had been consumed with guilt and she spent the rest of her life looking for me. Once she married Byakuya she had the Kuchiki's resources to hand and she spent every day that she could in the Rukongai looking for me, it was here that she contracted the illness that eventually killed her. It was her dying wish that Byakuya continue her search to find me, and when he did, she asked that he take me in so that I would have someone to call family. The year after Hisana died he found me at the Academy and offered to adopt me. Can you believe it? If only I'd gone to the Academy two years earlier I probably would have got to meet my sister." she finished sadly.

"I'm sorry" Ichigo consoled, at a loss of what else to say.

"Don't be. All things considered, the Kuchiki's have been good to me." Rukia stated kindly. "Of course, I didn't find any of this out until 50 years after I'd been adopted - on the day you saved me from Sokyoku Hill in fact" she added with a smile.

"Afterwards I didn't really have time to fully consider what I had been told due to the threat of Aizan. Even after you defeated him there was the fight we had here in convincing the Head Captain and Central 46 that your powers should be reinstated, and then there was the battle with the Fullbringer's, so I was distracted from thoughts of Hisana once again, especially as I had just made Lieutenant. But once things had quietened down I started to think about her, and Byakuya even started to share some stories about her with me. Do you know she always brought the leftover food from the Kuchiki's to give to the abandoned children every time she visited? Used to drive the kitchen staff crazy" she added with a chuckle and small smile. "Anyway, I realised how important Inuzuri was to her and I wanted to do something to honour her memory. I know what it's like to grow up in Inuzuri, to not have a roof over your head or food in your stomach, and I wondered if I could somehow continue Hisana's work. One day the idea of an orphanage popped into my head and I started thinking about how great it would be to offer a place to children out here where they could be protected. I must have been very distracted because one day Byakuya called me into his private office and demanded that I tell him what was wrong, so I told him what I had been thinking and about my idea. To my surprise, he liked the idea, especially as it was inspired by Hisana, and he promptly wrote me a cheque from the Kuchiki's business account as a charitable donation.

Not long afterwards I managed to track down Natsumi and Yoshio and told them my idea. Thankfully they loved it and we soon found this old abandoned warehouse and started converting it. There are classrooms, dormitories, a dining hall and a playground. It's basic, but the kids are safe, they're getting an education which means they can get better jobs in one of the higher districts, and Natsumi, Yoshio, and their daughter and son in law, Mieko and Masa, run this place for me on a day to day basis. I try and come out here as often as I can."

Ichigo was once again awestruck by Rukia. Never would he have thought that she would have done something like this and it made him fall that little bit more in love with her. "Rukia, this is really impressive" he said sincerely.

"Thanks" she accepted bashfully, her cheeks tingeing pink at the compliment. "I've never told anyone before" she added in a whisper.

Ichigo's brow furrowed in confusion "So no one knows about this place?"

Rukia looked awkwardly at Ichigo. She was not used to sharing this much information with anyone, but she was the one who had forgotten to hide her reiatsu and Ichigo had tracked her here meaning he knew about her project. She owed him the truth, especially if they were going to start dating. After all, wasn't that what girlfriends and boyfriends did, share information about their lives?

"Renji knows but he doesn't come out here as there are too many bad memories. Captain Ukitake knows, and Captain Kyoraku does too as he has been to the annual Charity Ball the Kuchiki's hold to raise funds for the orphanage. No one else does though" she stated honestly.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow sceptically "Byakuya allows a Ball to be thrown in honour of this place?"

"Yes. I think it helps that all the money the Kuchiki's and the other noble houses give to the charity is tax free" she replied with a smirk, clearly under no illusion as to why some of the other noble houses donated money to the cause. "I think this place is actually special to Byakuya . He's even been out here a few times and taught a couple of calligraphy classes" she added with a fond smile.

Ichigo scoffed at Rukia's words. "What?! How did you get Byakuya to dress like this?"

"He understands and he was surprisingly good with the kids. Apparently Hisana would wear clothes like this every time she came looking for me and he came with her sometimes too, towards the end when she was sick. He even has separate Inzuri clothes" she stated seriously.

A comfortable silence fell between them as Rukia's attention once again returned to Mai and Ichigo processed all the information he had been told. The fact that Rukia and Byakuya had such a strong bond via Hisana surprised him and he realised that the relationship between the two had obviously changed for the better in the 20 years that he had been gone.

"Don't the yukazu mind you being here?" he asked her seriously as he recalled her earlier comments.

"When we first started they didn't like it and they tried to take us over. However, after a couple of rounds with both Sode No Shirayuki and Senbonzakura they backed off. It also helps that we've got the support of the local community, as if the kids are here they're not out stealing from local businesses or causing trouble."

"Byakuya came here and fought?" he asked incredulously.

A proud smile appeared on Rukia's face. "As I said, I think this place has a special meaning to him. It is named in Hisana's memory after all."

Ichigo considered the information further, his brow furrowing once again in concentration. "So, this is what you meant when you said you had 'other commitments' the last time we met?" Ichigo asked seriously.

Rukia's glaze turned towards Ichigo and she nodded "Noble women are allowed to do charity work - admittedly most just throw tea parties or dinner parties to raise money - so it's 'acceptable' for me to work at a charity. It sure beats going to boring noble tea ceremonies" she added with a smile before turning serious "But Ichigo, you have to realise this place is important to me. I can't just up and leave it now that you're here and if you can't handle the fact that I'm going to be spending a good proportion of my time here, then as you said, we've got a problem."

The sound of a child's whimper filled the room and both Ichigo and Rukia's attention was drawn to Mai's small body and she thrashed around on the bed "NO!" she whimpered "STOP IT! PLEASE! NO!"

Immediately Rukia started stroking the child's cheek trying to wake her up "Mai-chan. It's ok Mai-chan, it's just a dream. Wake up and it will all be over. Come on Mai-chan, wake up."

Suddenly the small girl sat bolt upright in bed, and if it wasn't for Rukia's quick reflexes as a soul reaper her head would have been bashed by Mai's. She looked absolutely petrified and for a few seconds she squirmed against Rukia's hold until she realised where she was.

"WUKIA!" she cried as she threw herself into the woman's arms sobbing as the female soul reaper tried to console the child.

Ichigo watched the scene before him feeling utterly helpless. Despite the circumstances and their surroundings, in this moment Rukia looked simply beautiful and he wondered how he had never noticed her nurturing side before. Hearing Mai's sobs subside slightly as she snuggled in Rukia's arms he was suddenly struck by inspiration.

"Hey Mai, look at the wall!" he stated softly as he arranged his hands so a funny shaped shadow appeared on the opposite wall. Hesitantly Mai looked up from Rukia's shoulder and a small smile appeared on her face.

"More!" she commanded sniffling.

Before he could stop himself he was once again casting strange figures and shapes on the wall, a small smile appearing on his own face as Mai started to giggle. He briefly looked up into Rukia's eyes and saw a warmth in them that made the smile on his face grow larger. In that moment he realised that he had no problem with Rukia spending her free time here as he couldn't think of a better place to be.

"Looks like you could use my help around here" he stated genuinely with a warm smile.

Rukia's eyes widened as she realised what Ichigo's words meant "Yes, it appears we do" she replied softly with a smile.

* * *

_NOTE FROM HEADER (spoiler for this chapter): Rukia is healing a small girl who has been beaten up. She insinuates that rapes, even of children, are common in the area they are in and Ichigo queries whether she thinks the girl has been raped (without actually saying that). Rukia advises she does not think the girl has. _

_Rough English translation of the games the children are playing in the playground: _

_Ayatori = Cats cradle_

_Nawatobi = skipping rope_

_Hana ichi monme = Red Rover_

_Bidama = Spinning top_

_Well that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I have to admit it's one of my favourite ones. Let me know what you think._


	13. Chapter 13

_Thanks for the continued reviews, favourites and follows._

_Here's the next chapter of Moving On and I hope you enjoy it. _

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Nope, don't own Bleach. _

* * *

Rukia squirmed around as she settled herself against Ichigo. They were currently sat under a tree in one of the forests that adorned the sides of Mount Koifushi overlooking the Hokutan district of the Rukongai. She was sat with her back against his chest with his legs either side of her and his arms wrapped around her loosely, his warmth protecting her from the chilly air. Not long ago they had finished a picnic dinner together after having worked at the orphanage all day and now she was helping Ichigo study for his upcoming Law exam.

"Last question: Name 5 laws of Soul Society" she asked the oranged haired man who was currently acting as her very comfortable chair.

"Damn it! I revised this the other day!" Ichigo huffed in frustration. "Ok, let me think. 5 laws of Soul Society...5 laws of Soul Society...: It's against the law to commit murder"

"Correct!"

"It's against the law for any citizen of Soul Society to create weapons of a dangerous nature not sanctioned by Central 46"

"Correct!"

"It's against the law for a soul reaper to kill a human that they have not been ordered to kill"

"Correct!"

"It's against the law to attack a Captain"

Rukia snorted at the last one "Because you've never done that!" she exclaimed with amusement.

"If I recall it turned out pretty well for you" he replied smugly, to which Rukia swatted her fist backward and hit him. She was so comfortable lent up against him that she really couldn't be bothered to move to do it properly.

"Owww!" he exclaimed rubbing his pectoral.

"Quit being a baby, it didn't hurt that much" Rukia exclaimed unsympathetically "You still have one more to go".

Ichigo thought carefully before smirking as he stated the last law he could think of "It is against the law for a soul reaper to give their spiritual powers to humans... and if I remember correctly it's not like you haven't broken that one either"

"I don't see you complaining" she replied with a smug smile as she tilted her head backwards against his chest to look up at him.

Ichigo's breath caught in his throat as the moonlight reflected in Rukia's eyes and off of her pale skin. She looked beautiful. "Never" he whispered as his lips came down to place a tender kiss on her lips.

Rukia sighed internally. It had been a little over three months since Ichigo had arrived in Soul Society, and after the rocky start to their relationship, they had quickly fallen into somewhat of a routine. During the week they would correspond by letter, but Saturdays were always reserved as _their_ day. Ichigo would normally come out to the orphanage and help for the day, and in the evening they would always sneak off somewhere in the Rukongai for a "date".

A small smirk appeared on Rukia's face as she turned to face Ichigo and knelt in front of him. "50 questions and not one wrong. You know, I think you deserve a reward for doing so well with your studies." she said looking at him coyly.

Ichigo eyed Rukia suspiciously, his heart fluttering at the look Rukia was giving him. "Oh yeah?" he questioned with one eyebrow raised. That was one of the things he liked about Rukia, he never knew if her reward involved pleasure or pain.

Rukia slowly ran her finger down the exposed portion of Ichigo's chest as she chewed on her bottom lip sensually knowing how crazy it drove him. She enjoyed watching the shudder that ran through him and her heart beat faster at the knowledge that she was the one who was causing his reaction. In the last three months she couldn't deny that they had grown closer and she didn't know why she found it so easy to open up to Ichigo. Maybe it was because they had known each other for so long, maybe it was because she had lived in his room for almost a year, but whatever the reason, she found she could talk to Ichigo about things she had never been able to open up to other people about before. He'd surprised her by being a good listener and had a wealth of knowledge to share with her.

They'd also become more intimate with each other and he had made her feel things that were beyond her wildest imagination. Although she had found intimacy embarassing and awkward at first, no doubt due to the roles of their relationship having been reversed as she was so innocent that he'd become the teacher and she the student, but he had been patient and encouraging and for the first time ever she felt sexy and desired.

"Yeah" she whispered as she straightened her thighs so that her head was level with his and she place her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. "Well done Ichigo" and with that she captured his lips with hers. She felt his hands on her body almost instantly pulling her closer to him and she quickly inserted her tongue into his mouth as she felt him moan into the kiss.

Ichigo was in heaven. It was official, Saturday was now his favourite day of the week as it was the only day of the week he got to spend with Rukia. They'd discovered that sneaking out to see each other during the week was nearly impossible with the amount of studying he had, the extra kido lessons, as well as keeping up pretences with his Academy friends and his Seireitei friends, but Saturdays were all theirs. His midget was all his and he wouldn't have it any other way.

He couldn't help the shudder that ran through him and the groan that left his mouth as Rukia started placing kisses down his jaw to his ear and started sucking on the lobe as she ran her nails hard down his chest, even through his clothes he could feel their sharpness. Where had his shy virgin gone? Ok, in fairness she was still a virgin, but when they had first started dating she had been so shy and hesitant about touching him that what she was doing to him now was beyond anything he imagined 3 months ago, not that he wasn't enjoying it. Thankfully for him she was a quick learner.

Feeling the desire build between them he grabbed the backs of Rukia's thighs, lifted her up, and placed her legs either side of his hips to give him better access to her chest. "Two can play this game" he said heatedly as he captured Rukia's lips with his once again in a scintillating kiss.

Rukia gasped as she felt Ichigo position her in his lap. One of his hands started kneading one of her buttocks almost immediately whilst the other skimmed up her body and grabbed her still clothed breast. He started to massage it firmly causing goosebumps to appear all over her body despite the heat pooling in the pit of her stomach. She pushed herself harder against Ichigo's hands and almost involuntarily her hips started to move against his, exhilaration rushing through her as she felt Ichigo's member harden beneath her.

Ichigo groaned as he felt Rukia grind into him. He had to stop her doing that before he lost his last semblance of control, and in a desperate move he flipped them over so Rukia was beneath him. In this position her hips only came to waist so no matter how much she squirmed she wouldn't stimulate a certain part of him further. He pressed his chest against hers and even through the thickness of both of their clothes he could feel her rock hard nipples pressed against him. Slowly and tenderly he started placing kisses down her jaw, neck and collarbone enjoying the whimpers of pleasure she was emitting.

Rukia shuddered as she felt her back hit the cool ground. Despite the coolness of the ground and the night air, with Ichigo's body surrounding her she felt like she was on fire. But this wasn't what she wanted. She was supposed to be rewarding him, not the other way around. Mentally she prepared herself for what she was about to do, a task made extremely difficult by the way Ichigo's lips were currently moving over the exposed skin of her body. Kami! How could he make her feel like this? Shakily she started to slide her hand down Ichigo's chest, over his abdomen and to the tie of his hakama.

Ichigo's eyes widened and he lifted himself off Rukia so he could look into her eyes when he felt her hand start to fiddle with the ties of his hakama "Wh..what are you doing?" he panted in confusion.

Rukia flushed as she stared into Ichigo's eyes. "What does it look like?" she stated sensually as she raised her head up to kiss Ichigo as she once again started work on the ties.

"Wa..wait Rukia, stop!" Ichigo gasped as he felt her hand brush against his manhood and immediately he grabbed her hand in his and pinned it up beside her head. This was certainly new territory for them, they hadn't even seen each other naked yet.

"I want to..." she whispered into his ear feeling her blush deepen as she revealed her desires to her secret boyfriend.

Ichigo's eyes widened at Rukia's words "We can't" he gasped, thankful that his brain was still working and somehow overriding his body's desires.

"Yes...yes we can" Rukia stated softly as she raised her lips up to kiss Ichigo once again.

With all the self-control he could muster he pulled away from Rukia as she advanced towards him and turned his head away from her "No...no we can't" he stated firmly as he rolled off of the petite woman below him and onto the cold, moist grass, his breaths coming in short hard pants.

Rukia felt the cold evening air hit her chest and was overcome by a wave of insecurity and vulnerability. Immediately she sat up and curled herself into a tight ball with her head turned away from Ichigo. How could she have been so stupid? These past few months she had let her barriers down and let herself become attached to Ichigo, to let herself develop feelings for him, but all along he had been leading her on. How could she have been so stupid? She was a Lieutenant of the Gotei 13, a member of Kuchiki Clan, she was supposed to be able to read people.

Ichigo looked at Rukia and sighed as he saw the protective ball she had arranged herself in. He sat himself up and ran over his face as he frantically tried to think of a way to repair the damage that had been done. Slowly he moved so that he was sitting next to Rukia and gently placed a hand on her shoulder only to have her shrug it off.

"Rukia..." he began.

"Don't" she stated harshly.

"Rukia" he began again gently "It's not that I don't want to - believe me, I do - it's just that I want to do this, us, properly".

Sighing when he didn't receive any form of a reply from the raven haired beauty beside him he continued "I mean it's been going well the last 3 months, right? And the more time I spend with you, the more time I _want_ to spend with you. I love receiving your letters and hearing about your life, I love our Saturdays together, I love seeing you with the kids at the orphanage, and I love seeing your passion, your drive and your determination. Kami Rukia, I love you!" he declared earnestly, although surprising himself with the declaration. "And that's why I don't want us to make love yet. I want to do this right, I want to ask Byakuya's permission to date you, and when the time is right I want to get the Kuchiki's blessing to marry you - if you'll have me. I want us to have something special reserved just for our wedding night. I've done the whole sex before marriage thing in the human world, but with you, it's different and I don't know why. My college girlfriend wasn't a virgin so it didn't matter to me if we waited or not, but with you, it does. I just want to do everything right. I want everything to be perfect, for you, for us." he added in almost a plea.

Rukia's mind was in overload after Ichigo's speech. He loved her? He loved her enough _not_ to want to make love before their wedding night? He wanted to _marry_ her? He wanted to get Byakuya and the Kuchiki clan to agree to let him marry her? All of these things Rukia knew should shock her, should make her panic, after all they had only been dating 3 months, yet they didn't. She thought back over the last three months, about how accepting of the orphanage he had been, how good he was with the kids and how they adored him, how he was so dedicated to his studies and determined to graduate at the end of the academic year, how patient and kind he had been with her. She realised with a start that somehow over the last 3 months she had fallen in love with Ichigo too, and the thought of marrying him someday didn't scare her or fill her with dread like it did when she spoke to her brother about arranging a marriage for her. Ichigo's suggestion of marriage seemed almost natural and she felt a small spark of joy ignite within her.

Slowly she turned her head towards him "You love me?" she asked in a choked whisper, although there was caution in her tone.

Tenderly Ichigo swept that errant piece of hair that always fell into the centre of her face behind her ear, a small smile igniting on his face when it immediately fell back into its original position "Yeah, I love you" he replied softly, joy filling his soul as he spoke the words for a second time. And then Rukia did something that he never thought she'd do.

She giggled.

Ichigo started at Rukia incredulously and he couldn't help but laugh internally at the shocked expression on her face at hearing herself giggle.

Rukia stared into the warm eyes of Ichigo Kurosaki and couldn't help the small smile that landed on her face "I love you too" she whispered.

"Yeah?" he asked in amazement.

"Yeah, I do you baka. Although I'm not too happy about the no making love thing. It's my life and my virginity and I should have some say on when I get to lose it" she added stroppily.

Ichigo pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head tenderly "Sorry, your virginity is non-negotiable. It's our wedding night, or not at all. I've already disgraced you enough as it is and your honour is important to me".

Rukia relished in the warmth of Ichigo's embrace, desire once again starting to course through her blood. "You do know it could take you years to get Byakuya's agreement to court me, let alone obtain the Kuchiki's permission to marry me. They may never agree" she mumbled against his chest.

"They'll agree" he reassured confidently "I'll fight each and every one of them if I have to".

Reluctantly Rukia pulled away from Ichigo's embrace and looked him in the eye. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks at the question she was about to ask "Ichigo, can we do other...stuff... in the meantime?" she asked, the embarrassment she felt making her break her eye contact with him. "I mean, I'll deal with having to wait to make love to you, but I'd like to experience some of the other stuff before our wedding night." she mumbled

Ichigo swallowed hard at Rukia's question and looked away into the distance as he answered her question. "Rukia, it's not that I don't want to, it's just that I'm not sure I will be able to control myself. My reiatsu control has gotten better,I'm now at a fifth year level, but if we start doing...stuff... I'm not sure if I'll be able to control it and the last thing I want is for Byakuya, or the rest of the Soul Society for that matter, to find out about us like...that." he admitted reluctantly.

Rukai's head snapped back to look at Ichigo and she was surprised by his statement "Oh"

"It's been hard for me to control it whilst we've been making out" he admitted quietly.

The next thing Ichigo knew he had a raven haired soul reaper in his arms kissing him furiously "Rukia" he ground out breathlessly "Wh..what are you doing?"

"Guess there's only one want to find out..." she murmured into his lips with a devilish look in her eyes "Besides, think of it as a reiatsu control lesson."

Ichigo growled low in his throat as Rukia scrapped her teeth over his Adams Apple "You're on" he choked out as he rolled them onto the blanket once again. This would doubt be the best reiatsu control lesson he'd ever have...

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_So I thought I would try and do a different spin on the no sex before marriage thing as I thought it would be fun. Let me know what you think..._

_Until next week. _


	14. Chapter 14

_Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and alerts following the last chapter. I'm pleased you are enjoying the story, and without further ado, here is the next chapter! _

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Don't own it! _

* * *

Ichigo awoke with a start immediately sensing something was not right. Seeing a movement out of the corner of his eye in his darkened room he reacted instantaneously.

"Bakudo number 4: Hainawa!" he yelled as he threw the reishi rope in the direction of the movement as he leapt out of bed and grabbed Zangetsu. As he prepared himself to fight, the clouds in the night sky shifted and moonlight suddenly poured into his room revealing a sight that simply took his breath away.

"Rukia!" he gasped.

Somewhere in her brain Rukia acknowledged Ichigo's voice, and somewhere in her brain she acknowledged that she was bound by a kido rope, but after the events of today her brain simply could not process a response. Kami, part of her could still not believe that she had broken into the Academy in the middle of the night to see Ichigo! When had she turned into the type of woman who needed someone? She had always been independent and had never burdened anybody with her problems - a skill she had learnt even before joining the Kuchiki's - but after today she needed Ichigo. She needed his comfort and his solace, his strength and his love, and well, just him. Somehow when she was with Ichigo everything was ok and she needed that reassurance that everything was going to be ok tonight.

Ichigo stared at his girlfriend with a concerned and baffled expression. Rukia was standing in the middle of his room looking wide eyed and completely shocked and overwhelmed. She was pale and her eyes were heavy and red-rimmed, her posture was sagging as if she barely had enough energy to stand, and her hands were clenched together in fists at her sides. The reishi rope glowed around her, but she made no move to untangle herself from it. In fact, she said nothing and did nothing except stare at him with a blank expression and that caused the worry and concern inside Ichigo to go into overdrive.

Setting Zangetsu back onto the storage plinth, he approached Rukia undoing the kido spell as he went. "Rukia, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

Rukia just continued to stare at him. Where did she begin?

Ichigo's brow creased further in concern as he saw the turmoil and upset in her eyes, tears building within them as each moment passed. "Rukia?" he whispered again softly as he gently stroked her cheek and let his hand trail down to rest on her shoulder.

Feeling Ichigo's skin against her own was the last straw for Rukia and in the next second she threw herself against his hard warm chest and started to cry. She just wanted this all to stop! She didn't want to feel scared, angry or helpless anymore. She didn't want to feel guilty that she hadn't gotten there earlier. She didn't want to feel the pain of her heart aching or like her world was collapsing around her. She just wanted to feel loved and protected like she always did in Ichigo's arms.

Tentatively Ichigo wrapped his arms around his distraught girlfriend and held her as close as he could as he felt the warmth of her tears against his bare chest. "Rukia, please tell me what's wrong?" he tried again, desperately wanting to know what had caused Rukia to become this upset. He had never seen her cry before, not even when she was on the top of Sokyuko Hill about to be executed, and it unnerved him that something so catastrophic had happened that it had his girlfriend beside herself in tears.

Rukia just sobbed harder at Ichigo's words and he had to hold back the hiss that almost escaped his mouth as she dug her fingernails harder into the naked skin of his back. All Ichigo could do was stand and hold his girlfriend as he tried to soothe her "Shhh, Rukia. It's going to be ok. Whatever's happened we can fix it together, I promise."

After what seemed like an eternity she finally looked up at him and he gulped at the desperation and despair he saw in her eyes. "It's Captain Ukitake" she choked.

Ichigo tensed immediately "What's happened to Captain Ukitake?" he enquired ominously.

"He...he's in the 4th. It's bad Ichigo" she sobbed against Ichigo's chest, a wave of pain and helplessness washing over her once again.

"Hey...shhhh...it'll be ok. He'll be ok. Captain Ukitake's strong, he's a fighter. Whatever injuries he's got I'm sure Captain Unohana can fix" he soothed as he kissed the top of her head comfortingly, desperately trying to hide his shock and disbelief that Captain Ukitake had been injured.

"No..no you don't understand!" she sobbed in desperation. "He..he wasn't injured. It...it's his illness. There was so much blood..."

Realisation dawned on Ichigo then as he remembered that Captain Ukitake was in fact a very sick man, although he sure hid it well. As far as Ichigo was aware Captain Unohana and the 12th Division had yet to diagnose Ukitake's illness, let alone find a cure, and if Rukia was this upset then Captain Ukitake must be in a bad way. "What happened?" he asked softly.

Rukia dropped her head to her boyfriend's chest again, her cheek resting against the expanse of skin so that she could still talk. Immediately she felt calmer and safer as she felt and heard his heart beat against her ear, although she still shuddered as she breathed "He's been feeling unwell for the past few days and he'd been resting at Ugendo, but this morning I had to go over there to take some papers for him to sign. When I arrived there was blood everywhere. He was so pale Ichigo, he could barely breath" she whispered "Captain Kyoraku said he'd stayed the night with him and that Captain Ukitake had been resting when he left for the Captain's meeting early this morning, but somehow in the 3 hours that no one was with him he..he..he almost died" she choked out in whisper before starting to cry once again as wave after wave of emotion overtook her.

"Shhhh. It's ok Rukia, I'm here. Whatever happens, I'm here and together we will get through this" he tried to console her as her tears once more marred his skin, his own concern and worry now building for his former superior officer.

"I..I..I got him to the 4th Division as quickly as I could. Kami, I don't think I've ever shunpoed that fast before, but he was barely breathing when we got there. Even after all of Captain Unohana's treatment he's barely any better. I...I don't think he's going to make it Ichigo. All his brothers and sisters are there and even the Head Captain's been to visit. That's never happened before" she continued in a broken whisper "And Captain Kyoraku has stopped drinking. The last time that happened was before the final battle with the Arrancars and Aizen".

Ichigo absorbed the information he had been given. Never before in his life had he felt so hopeless. All he wanted to do was make the pain and desperation that Rukia was feeling go away, but he didn't know what to say or do to make her feel any better. He himself was extremely worried about Captain Ukitake. He was a good man, an excellent Captain, well-loved in the Soul Society, and one of the few people who he truly respected. Should Captain Ukitake pass away it would be to Soul Society's detriment.

"What's wrong with Captain Ukitake anyway?" he asked curiously in case his illness had been diagnosed and he was just not aware.

Rukia shrugged against him. "No one has ever been able to diagnose it. Captain Unohana does her best to keep his lungs clear, and the 12th Division has had specimens in the past to see if they can find a cure but it was no use. He can't die Ichigo! He...he just can't!" she sobbed in despair again as she recalled the tears in Captain Unohara's eyes as she delivered her grave diagnosis. She felt completely overwhelmed. If Captain Ukitake died then she'd be in charge of the entire Division until a new Captain was appointed. How would she be able to protect them all when she had only just achieved bankai in the last few weeks? Captain Ukitake had been instrumental in her achieving it in the first place, how would she continue to develop her bankai without his help?

"I know Rukia, I know. Shhh!" Ichigo reassured the petite soul reaper again as he gently wiped the tears from her eyes with is thumb, her breath catching as he did so.

"What symptoms does he have?" he asked distractedly. He'd grown up in his father's clinic and he'd spent an awful lot of time in hospitals as a Police Inspection, maybe this was something he could help with?

Rukia shrugged her shoulders helplessly "A constant cough, sometimes it's so bad that it makes him cough up blood, and he always struggles to breath after a coughing fit. I know it causes him a lot of pain too, not that he shows it very often. Considering that he is a Captain with considerable spiritual pressure he also doesn't have much of an appetite, and he gets nights sweats too. There's very little anyone can do to make him comfortable or feel better" Rukia explained sadly "Even Captain Unohara's medicinal tea doesn't help him that much".

Ichigo's brain started to whirl. He'd heard symptoms like this before when he'd been a beat cop in the living world and the entire force had had to get vaccinated due to some of the officers contracting the illness after there was an outbreak in the poorer regions of Tokyo where they patrolled.

"Has he been tested for TB?" he asked curiously.

Rukia once again raised her head to catch his gaze, and he was relieved to see that some of the despair had gone. Her brow was furrowed in concentration and he could clearly see her thinking back over the past.

"No..no I don't think so. I've never heard of TB, what is it?" she asked hesitantly.

"Tuberculosis. I don't know the ins and outs of the disease exactly" Ichigo admitted reluctantly "but it's an infection in the lungs which causes symptoms like the ones you've just explained. It was common in the poorer areas of Tokyo and the entire Police Department had to be vaccinated against it. I remember because it left this stupid scar on my arm". Reluctantly he released Rukia so he could see the slight indentation on his arm.

Rukia peered at the indentation curiously. "Can it be cured?" she asked hopefully, a wave of optimism washing over her.

"I believe so with a course of antibiotics" Ichigo replied, but was dismayed to see Rukia's shoulders slump once again. "Rukia, what's wrong?"

Rukia felt the hope she had just felt ignite within her soul diminish. Slowly she looked up at him "Soul Society is not allowed to use the medicines from the human world. It is thought to be an unfair advantage" she informed him sorrowfully.

Ichigo looked at the women in front of him incredulously. There was a possible cure available for Captain Ukitake, but rather than break some stupid law about not using medicines from the human world, they would rather let the man die? A Captain who gave so much to Soul Society and who was a fountain of knowledge and wisdom?

"That's crap!" he exclaimed causing Rukia to jump away from him, but much to his relief he saw anger ignite in her eyes.

"Keep your voice down! Do you want to wake up the entire Academy?" she snapped "Besides, you know the laws of Soul Society. As much as I'd like to be able to help Captain Ukitake, I can't!"

"Bullshit Rukia!" he whispered harshly "Do you think Captain Ukitake or Captain Kyoraku cared about the laws when they came to rescue you on Sokyoku Hill that day, huh? They didn't know that I was coming, in fact if I remember correctly they had been instructed to detain or kill me if they encountered me. But Captain Ukitake broke into the grounds of the Shihoin clan and stole the Shihoin Shield to rescue you because he believed it was the right thing to do, not because of what the law said!"

Guilt overcame Rukia as she listened to Ichigo's words. She had always loved being in the Thirteenth and Captain Ukitake was a big part of the reason she loved her Division so much. He had always been patient and nurturing with her, as he was with everybody he encountered, and that day on Sokoyoku Hill had not been the first time he had saved her. When she had been suspended following Kaien's death he had visited her everyday to reassure her that what had happened was not her fault. He had stood up for her against the Head Captain and had ensured that not one member of the Thirteenth blamed her for Kaien's death. Even to this day he would make a special effort to make sure she was ok on the anniversary of his death and it was tradition now that he would bring her rice dumplings on the anniversary of Kaien's death to cheer her up. But she was so fed up of people reminding her that she was saved from execution and a wave of anger washed over her.

"I never asked any of you to do that!" she whispered back in frustration "I was resigned to my fate. I knew what the punishment was the day I gave you my powers" she stated in a deadly calm voice.

"Damn it Rukia! Open your eyes! This isn't about what we should or shouldn't have done over 20 years ago, this is about what should happen now! There's a way to save Captain Ukitake and you don't have the guts to even try!" he exclaimed angrily. Never had he thought that the woman he loved would refuse to help the Captain she was so fond of.

Rukia stared at Ichigo incredulously and tried to pretend that his words hadn't hurt her. Seeing Captain Ukitake in the state he had been in today had been one of the worst things she had ever seen. The only word to describe the scene when she had first entered his room earlier today was bloodbath, and if it wasn't for his shallow raspy breaths, she would have sworn that he was dead. His crimson blood was all over him and his bedclothes, even his white hair had bright red streaks of congealed blood in it, and today ranked up there with the day she had killed Kaien. As much as it pained her to admit it, Ichigo was right about that day on Sokyoku Hill. For some reason fate had transpired to save her and Captain Ukitake had been instrumental in that. He was a man of integrity and he would do everything in his power to fight for the people he cared about, for the men in his Division, for his family. Didn't she owe him the same courtesy? Didn't she owe him the chance to fight for his own life? Didn't his family deserve a reprieve from the worry of their constantly ill sibling? Had she learnt nothing as his Lieutenant? She sighed in resignation.

"You're right" she muttered as an idea began to form in her head.

She stared at the man before her and tried to ingrain his image into her brain, because if what she was about to do was successful, she may never see him again. Overcome by emotion she threw herself into his arms and clutched him as tightly as she could wanting to capture his unique essence and the warmth and feel of his skin for what could be the very last time.

"Rukia?" he enquired inquisitively. One minute they had been arguing about medication for Captain Ukitake, and the next she was clutching him desperately as if she was never going to see him again.

At the sound of her name she peered up into the concerned gaze of her boyfriend, noting the warmth that shone from them as he gazed at her. Slowly she skimmed her hands up his firm chest, around his neck, and pulled his head down for a heart stopping kiss.

"I love you" she whispered earnestly as she broke away.

"Rukia?" he asked confusedly.

"Shhhh" she whispered as she placed her index-finger against his lips "I have to go now, but I want you to know that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me Ichigo Kurosaki. Thank you, for everything" she continued as she slipped out of his grasp and headed for his open window.

Ichigo stared after his girlfriend in a complete daze, his mind not fully comprehending what was happening. Suddenly his mind realised that she was about to disappear out of his room and he went into over drive.

"Rukia, wait!" he all but yelled, which caused her to pause and turn around.

His mind went blank, absolutely blank. What was she talking about never seeing him again? "I love you too" he stated honestly, those being the first words that entered his mind.

Rukia simply smiled wistfully as she leapt out of his bedroom window and into the dark night sky.

* * *

_So I may have taken some liberties with suggesting that Captain Ukitake has TB but it worked for the story so I'm using it! And in case you have never had the TB vaccine, generally after you've had the injection you do get a slightly pussy wound that tends to scab then scar (I was very lucky and didn't get a scar with mine, although I'm not exaggerating when I say that out of the 200 people in my year that received the jab I was literally the one person who had no reaction to it. I got told this was because there is a "perfect" place to put it in your arm and if the nurse puts it there you have no reaction, slightly either side of the "perfect" spot and you're still immunised, but your body will react against it, hence the scab/scar. No idea if that's true or not, but it's what I got told!). The injection is usually given in the arm or leg (when I was at school I had it in my arm but my parents had it in their legs), and although it is less effective in adults, they can still get immunised against it (although in the UK an adult has to pay for it and TB is no longer a standard vaccine for kids - and the government wonders why the number of TB cases has increased!)_

_Just to warn you that updates are going to be sporadic for the next couple of months as my boss quit the week before last (at the busiest time of the year) so my workload has increased and I am travelling a lot with work at the moment. There definitely won't be an update next weekend as I am away on business (joy!) and the weekend after we are celebrating my cousin and my Mum's birthday so there may not be an update then either. Hate to leave on a cliffhanger, but I don't know how regularly I can update for the time being. I've only got 3-4 more chapters to draft so the story will be finished at some point, honest! _


	15. Chapter 15

_Apologies for the delay in updating. Remember the A/N from the previous chapter about my boss quitting? Well it turns out that my previous boss was not as good at their job as everyone thought so my colleague and I have been travelling all over the country the past few weeks trying to sort everything out, hence no update! Hopefully things will quieten down soon, but updates will be sporadic for a while I'm afraid. I'll aim to update every 2 weeks but I can't guarantee anything at the moment. _

_Thank you for all the reviews, alerts and favourites of this story since I last updated. I have a feeling this chapter might not be what people expected, but I hope you still enjoy it anyway. At least it's fairly long! Please note things get steamy towards the end of the chapter so you have been warned... _

**_Disclaimer: _**_In case you haven't realised from the past 14 chapters, I don't own Bleach or have anything to do with it actually. _

* * *

Ichigo had neither seen nor heard from Rukia in a little over 2 weeks and with each day that passed he felt more and more anxious and worried about her. It was causing him a huge amount of distress after the way things had been left between them and his studies had suffered. How could he concentrate on a kido spell or the history of Soul Society when the woman he loved may be in prison or worse right now for all he knew? He'd not received one letter from her and she had not been at the orphanage at the weekends, she had not even left a message with the Saito's to explain her absence, and that concerned him. He'd continued to go the orphanage at the weekends to help out as best he could, but the kids missed Rukia and they wanted to know when she would be back.

So needless to say he was more than a little surprised when at 2am on a Tuesday morning he was awoken by a figure straddling his body and placing gentle kisses around his face and neck as he lay in bed.

"Rukia?" he mumbled sleepily, to which he was rewarded with a long reverent kiss to his lips before his raven haired girlfriend curled herself into his side.

Rukia sighed in contentment as she lay at her boyfriend side, her leg straddling his and her arm drawing lazy circles on his naked abdomen and chest. This had been the longest amount of time they had gone without seeing each other since he had arrived in Soul Society and it wasn't until she'd leapt into his dormitory once again that she'd realised just how much she'd missed him. Seeing him sleeping peacefully in his bed she had been unable to stop herself from waking him up (in what she hoped) was a pleasant way. Kami had she missed him! She'd missed the comfort of his hard body, the warmth and tenderness in his eyes, and the way his reiatsu wrapped around her in a protective bubble whenever they were together - something she wasn't even sure Ichigo was aware that he did.

These past two weeks had been manic. She was exhausted and part of her just wanted to go back to her quarters and sleep, but Captain Unohara had just given them all the best piece of news and she'd had to come and share it with Ichigo immediately, after all he was a major reason why there was good news to share in the first place.

Ichigo rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he tried to comprehend what was happening. Slowly he glanced down at the petite woman and immediately inhaled her unique scent - crisp ice and lavender - which caused relief to surge through him. His Rukia was here at last safe and sound in his arms. Slowed he turned to face her and wrapped his arms around her so he could pull her closer to him, her body immediately fitting against his own. He noted how peaceful and relaxed her expression was and he almost wished he didn't have to break the comfortable silence between them.

"Rukia, not that's it not great to see you, but what are you doing here?" he whispered as he placed a soft kiss against her forehead.

Rukia shivered against Ichigo's heated body as she felt his breath skim past her neck and shoulders and she tilted her head up so that she could look her boyfriend straight in the eye.

"He's going to be ok" she replied with a soft smile, her eyes aglow with happiness.

Ichigo returned the smile, immediately knowing who she was referring to and pulled his girlfriend tighter against him "Yeah?"

"Aha" she mumbled contently "And it's all thanks to you, Ichigo".

"Huh?" he asked in confusion as he peered into the shining eyes of his girlfriend.

"After I left here last time I snuck into the Fourth and got a sample of Captain Ukitake's blood" she began.

"What?!" exclaimed Ichigo, his eyes widening in shock.

"It wasn't as hard as you think - there was a bowl beside him that had enough in for a sample" she explained sadly "And after our last conversation I was intent on going to the living world to get it tested for that TB thing you were talking about, and if the results were positive, nothing was going to stop me from getting those antibiotics. Anyway I couldn't use the Kuchiki's senkaimon so..."

"Wait!" Ichigo interrupted "I thought there was only one senkaimon in the Soul Society?"

Rukia simply rolled her eyes "Some of the noble families have their own private senkaimon and the Kuchiki's obviously have one as we are one of the oldest noble families in the Seireitei" she replied haughtily.

"Anyway" she continued "I couldn't ask Byakuya's permission to use it because he would have asked too many questions and he would have forbade its use for illegal means, so I went to see Captain Kyoraku. The Kyoraku's are one of the oldest noble families in Soul Society, although not as highly ranked as the Kuchiki's, and they also have their own senkaimon. I figured that if anyone was going to help me, it would be Captain Kyoraku. Plus, it would have been more difficult for Central 46 to prove that it was me who provided any cure for Captain Ukitake as there would have been no record of me passing to the living world through either the Seireitei or Kuchiki's senkaimon".

"And Captain Kyoraku was ok with this plan?" Ichigo asked sceptically.

Rukia huffed a little as she tilted her head back down to rest on Ichigo's chest "No, in fact he forbade me to go. Said that I had too much to lose if I got caught".

Confusion overcame Ichigo "So what happened?" he asked.

Rukia looked up at Ichigo once again. "Truthfully? I don't really know. After I told him my plan and he forbade me to go to the living world he insisted that I leave the sample of blood with him and said that if I didn't he would report me for breaking into the Fourth and stealing. I had no choice so I left it with him" she replied sadly, a part of her still hating herself for not putting up more of a fight against Capatin Kyoraku. "The next day Captain Kyoraku was late coming to the Fourth, although he acted as if nothing had happened the night before and said nothing about it. But the day after the Twelfth Division suddenly found a cure for Captain Ukitake. I saw the pills they gave him, Ichigo. They had Isoniazid printed on them and..."

"And they are the antibiotics used in the living world to treat TB" Ichigo recalled from when one of his fellow police officers contracted TB, he remembered as the name of the drug had sounded comical to him.

"Yeah" Rukia replied incredulously. "I don't know how Captain Kyoraku got them or how he convinced Captain Kurotsuchi to say the Twelfth Squad had developed them, but Captain Ukitake has been taking them for two weeks now and he's starting to show real signs of improvement" she continued happily. "It's going to take a while, but Captain Unohara thinks he's going to make a full recovery and be cured!"

Ichigo smiled down at his girlfriend warmly "That's great news Rukia" he said before placing a gentle kiss on her lips. Despite the fact that she looked exhausted and dishevelled, her face shone with pure joy and it made his heart fill with warmth and love.

Rukia sighed against him as she rested her head on Ichigo's arm and closed her eyes, suddenly overcome with exhaustion. It had been such a tumultuous two weeks with Captain Ukitake being so ill, the constant vigil over his bedside, as well as running a Division filled with extremely worried and anxious soul reapers. But after today there was suddenly light at the end of the tunnel. Captain Ukitake was on the mend, and it appeared it would be for good this time.

Ichigo took in the delicate features of his girlfriend's face and could clearly see the toll the past two weeks had taken on her. She had dark bags under eyes and her complexion was still pale, although brighter than the last time they had met. If he was not mistaken she seemed to have lost weight too and he vowed to pack all her favourite foods in the picnic he would prepare for this weekends' date. His heart beat solidly in his chest and he swallowed hard as another wave of love and appreciation washed over him.

"I missed you" he whispered softly.

Rukia smiled contently, but did not open her eyes as she responded "I missed you too".

Ichigo pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "The orphanage is doing well" he informed her softly. "Mai-chan was well enough to play outside for the first time this weekend and she even interacted with some of the other kids".

"Yeah?" she replied sleepily.

"Yeah. She made me do a shadow puppet show for everyone last weekend" he reminisced fondly.

Rukia's head shot up and mirth was evident in her face "She didn't!"

"She did" Ichigo confirmed with a smile "It went down a storm. They were thinking of building an actual stand for me and Natsumi-san was thinking of making it a construction and art project for everyone if they could get the materials".

Rukia stared at her boyfriend in wonder "What did I do to deserve you?" she whispered as she ran her fingers through his hair and massaged his scalp, something she had recently discovered Ichigo loved.

"I think you have that the wrong way round. What did I do to deserve you?" he replied tenderly as he placed a loving kiss against her lips, which Rukia immediately deepened much to his delight.

Rukia felt warmth and love flood through her as the kiss between her and Ichigo grew more intense, and she couldn't help the moan that escaped from her throat as Ichigo's hands smoothed over her back to massage a buttocks. In return her hands started to explore his naked chest and she was surprised when Ichigo jolted against her as she ran her thumb over one of his nipples.

"Rukia..." he groaned, pleasure evident in his voice.

Hesitantly, she moved her head to kiss, suck, and nip at his neck and collar bone as she flicked, rubbed, and massaged the nub again and again, desire coursing through her as she received another groan of pleasure from her boyfriend. An idea formed in her head which caused nervousness to pool in the pit of her stomach. Could she really carry out her plan? She had never done this before, would Ichigo enjoy it?

She thought back to the last time Ichigo and she had had time to develop their physical relationship. It had been the evening they had picnicked under the trees on Mount Koifushi and she had been the one then pushing for a more physical relationship. Although they had remained fully dressed, they had made out incessantly and their session had culminated in Ichigo slipping his fingers between her legs and pleasured her womanhood causing her to experience her first ever orgasm, the memory of it alone took her breath away. Determination rushed through her as she realised she wanted to do the same for Ichigo now and gentle she pushed him onto his back and straddled his abdomen, gulping as she shifted back slightly and felt the bulge in Ichigo's pyjama bottoms.

"Rukia?" he questioned, instantly gasping as she wriggled against his already erect manhood. The moonlight from the window cast an ethereal glow around her and he wondered if in fact he was dreaming.

"Shhhh" she whispered as she placed her fingers against his lips. She leaned forward and started to kiss her way around his neck and shoulders again. Her fingers skimmed up and down his sides massaging the sensitive skin, and every so often she would smooth her fingers up over his well defined pectoral muscles and nipples. A thrill ran through her every time she felt Ichigo twitch, squirm, and tense against her mouth and hands, and each sound of pleasure he made reassured her that she must be doing something right. Gradually she moved her lips down across his chest, then lower over his abdomen until she reached the waistline of his pyjama bottoms that hung from his hips. At this level she could smell the musty scent of his arousal and was surprised to find it smelt vaguely of bleach. She paused then not quite sure how she was to proceed. Rangiku often brought back magazines from the living world and she recalled in more than one magazine how she could use her mouth on Ichigo's manhood to pleasure him, but she wasn't ready for that.

Ichigo wondered what he had done to deserve the pleasure that Rukia was currently inflicting on his body. He knew he should stop her, he knew that they could be caught at any moment, yet he couldn't. He just couldn't. It was taking every ounce of self-control he had to keep his reiatsu clamped down and himself in control. Every brush of her lips and hands against his skin was causing a fire to burn low in his belly and every time she brushed against his penis he felt himself twitch and harden. It had been so long since he had been touched like this by a woman that he didn't know how much longer his self-control was going to last. He felt Rukia move lower and lower over his body and he somehow managed to open his eyes and look down as she made her way over his body. He felt her pause at the waist line of his pyjamas, and although part of him was relieved at the pause in Rukia's devilish exploration, a bigger part of him was worried that he had pushed Rukia too far. He had been serious when he said that he wanted to take things slow with her.

Gently he raised his hand and ran it through her hair, cupping her face in one hand as he finished. "It's ok, Rukia. We can stop".

Rukia's bright indigo eyes looked up at him with uncertainty, before he saw determination fire within them. "No" she stated in a forceful whisper "I want to".

Ichigo gulped at her statement. Sure, he had pleasured her all those nights ago under the trees and witnessing Rukia's first orgasm had been one of the most intimate, beautiful things he had ever seen, but he was experienced with sexual matters and she wasn't.

"I don't want to push you Rukia. I can wait" he whispered earnestly. He knew the only way he would be able to get rid of his erection would be to jerk himself off but he could do that when she was gone, it wasn't a big deal.

Slowly Rukia slipped off his body and he couldn't help the flicker of disappointment he felt as she moved away from his groin. She moved so that her body was resting against his side, but her arms straddled his head and she stared him straight in the eye as she whispered her next sentence.

"I told you I want to baka. I don't want to use my mouth on...it...but I can try with my hand" she whispered with a mix of insecurity, trepidation and determination "I want to see you as you've seen me."

Ichigo swallowed at her statement. Was this really a good idea? Would he be able to keep his reiatsu in check as she gave him a hand job? Sure he had masturbated since he had been at the Academy - how could he not when he saw Rukia nearly every weekend? - and no one had said anything to him about his reiatsu level. But it was one thing when he was in control, letting Rukia have that control over him was another matter indeed.

"Ok" he whispered. He was so turned on and aroused right now that it wouldn't take much for him to come, and Rukia deserved to experience the same emotions he had when he had pleasured her for the first time. This wasn't sex, they weren't naked, and unless Rukia instigated undressing him, they would both remain in their clothes as they had the time he had fingered her. A small smile lit up her face and in that instant Ichigo knew he had made the right decision. Slowly he closed his eyes and tried to let himself relax and enjoy the experience, whilst trying to maintain a firm control on his reiatsu.

Rukia gulped as Ichigo gave her permission to do to him what he had done to her. Slowly and hesitantly she skimmed her hand down the centre of his body, and before she lost her nerve, she slipped her hand underneath his pyjama bottoms. Immediately her fingers encountered coarse hair and she forced her hand up to wrap around Ichigo's manhood. She was surprised to find how firm, yet smooth, it was. Hesitantly and gently she moved her hand up and down the organ as she watched Ichigo's face intently to make sure she wasn't hurting him.

Ichigo hissed as Rukia's hand made contact with him for the first time. Her calloused hand caused a gloriously rough friction against his manhood as she moved up and down him, but it wasn't enough.

"Like this" he whispered as he opened his eyes to stare into her face once again. He moved his hand to cover hers and tightened the grip she had around him. He guided her on slipping her hand up and down him, adding a twist in at the end just how he liked it, all the while their eyes never left each other.

Gradually he lost himself in the sensations of Rukia's skin against his and he felt his eyes drift shut again as wave after wave of pleasure washed over him.

Rukia watched Ichigo's expression in amazement as she moved her hand up and down his shaft, her movements obviously causing him great pleasure. She felt moisture come out of the top of his penis and she swirled her thumb over the top causing a moan of sheer pleasure from Ichigo. She swirled her thumb a few more times before tightening her grip even more and thrusting her hand back down, causing Ichigo's hips to jerk up slightly. She repeated the action again, getting a similar result, but this time she let her hand leave his shaft and she hesitantly cupped his balls. Briefly she massaged them, noting how Ichigo threw his hand over his mouth to muffle his cry of delight, before she returned to his now even harder penis. She slipped her hand from base to tip and was surprised to find more fluid at the tip. Once again she swirled this over the top of him with her thumb feeling his penis twitch beneath her fingers.

"Rukia!" he gasped against his arm, and she could clearly hear the need in his voice. His free arm came up to wrap around her and he held her close against his body, the gesture making her feel desired and wanted for some reason. His eyes were screwed shut and his brow was more furrowed than usual, but this time in pleasure rather than consternation. His face was flushed red and she could see beads of perspiration form on his forehead. Seeing Ichigo like this beneath her, wanton and powerless, made a rush of power flood through her. Here was arguably one of the strongest shinigami Soul Society had ever seen and he was quivering and helpless under her touch. She quickened the pace of her hand and tightened the grip, now adding more of a twist with each pull of his manhood.

Heat swirled around Ichigo and all he could feel was a deep almost painful ache. He was so close. He needed to climax, needed to reach completion, and he cried out Rukia's name once. What she was doing to him; it was like heaven and hell all mixed in together. Just as he was about to come her hand stopped. "Rukia, please! So close..." he groaned in desperation as his arm gripped around her tighter.

Rukia couldn't help the smirk that formed on her lips as she looked down at the distressed look on Ichigo's face. Her hand was at the base of his penis and she quickly gave his balls one last squeeze before running her nails up the sensitive skin of Ichigo's manhood before clamping her hand around him like a vice and giving him another short sharp tug. She watched in fascination as the tension in Ichigo's unravelled, his hips arched up suddenly, and warm sticky fluid filled her hand as Ichigo cried out her name one last time. She continued to tug on him as his hips continued to thrust upwards and she was surprised when more and more sticky fluid came out of the tip of his penis. After a few seconds Ichigo's body stilled and she felt his cock soften in her hands. Shakily she removed her hand from his pyjama bottoms, blushing when she saw the stain on the material and the white substance that coated her hand. She brought her hand up closer to her face to examine Ichigo's seed in more detail.

Ichigo panted as he came down from one of the best orgasms he had ever experienced. His body felt hot and tingly and gratitude towards Rukia for what she had just down flowed through him. He realised he was still holding her tightly to his body and he loosened his grip slightly. Slowly he opened his eyes and peered down at the petite woman, his face contorting with confusion when he noticed she seemed to be looking at her hand in astonishment.

"Rukia, are you ok?" he whispered gently. Had he pushed her too far after all?

Rukia looked up from her hand at Ichigo in amazement. She had just given him an orgasm. Her small hands had brought him pleasure like she had never witnessed before. "I did this" she whispered incredulously.

Ichigo smiled down at his girlfriend. Her cheeks were flushed and she had a strange look on her face between puzzlement and amazement. "Yeah you did" he whispered with a smile "Pretty damn good at it too".

Rukia looked away in embarrassment before staring at her hand once again. "I..er...I just need to go wash up" she whispered in mortification as she made to rise from the bed, only to feel Ichigo's hand tighten against her holding her against his side.

"It's ok" he whispered into her hair as he planted a soft kiss there. His eyes were feeling heavy and he didn't want to let Rukia go and break the peace and calm that had developed between them. He reached into his bedside cabinet and removed a baby wipe from within, gently wiping her hand of his essence.

Rukia looked at Ichigo questioningly. "You keep baby wipes in your drawer?"

Ichigo looked at his girlfriend with one eyebrow raised and couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his mouth as he saw understanding flicker in her eyes.

"Oh" she muttered, her face deepened in colour as she realised that Ichigo had been _fantasizing_ about her whilst at the Academy. Slowly she rested her head against his shoulder and once again started tracing patterns on his chest as soon as he had finished cleaning her hand and had disposed of the rubbish in the bin that was strategically placed next to his bed. She could his heart beating and listened as it returned to its normal rate. The sound soothed her and she felt herself relax further against the warmth of her boyfriend however, there was a nagging voice in her head that refused to be quiet. "Was it any good?" she whispered shyly after several minutes.

She felt Ichigo's chest rise and fall rapidly as he replied "Pfft! Rukia, it was amazing" he reassured her.

"I'd like to do it again sometime" she whispered again in the same shy voice.

Ichigo raised his free hand to cup her face and tilt it to look up at him "You can do that anytime you like" he whispered heatedly and Rukia shuddered at the warmth and passion she saw in his eyes. "But not tonight" he continued "I have to be up for school in 3 hours".

Rukia smiled softly as she once again rested her head on his chest, exhaustion once again coming over her. "Some other time then" she mumbled tiredly.

"Mmm, some other time" he mumbled too as he felt sleep over take him.

* * *

Rukia's slowly opened her eyes as light flittered into the room. She took in her surrounding blearily and realised that she wasn't at the Kuchiki manor and she wasn't in her quarters at Division 13, yet the room looked vaguely familiar. Her eyes flew open when she realised that she was not laying on a futon, but instead she was draped across something hard, yet soft, and very very warm. She shot up in bed in a panic as the events of last night flooded through her tired brain and she realised she had fallen asleep in Ichigo's bed. In his room. At the Academy.

Ichigo awoke with a start as he felt a sudden movement at his side and cool air washed over his body. Looking in the direction of the movement and seeing a womanly figure dressed in black he was suddenly assaulted with numerous images from the previous night. Hearing voices outside his window his eyes widened in panic as he realised that classes were about to start and Rukia was still in his room.

"Shit!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Baka! Why did you let me fall asleep?" Rukia whispered angrily as she shot out of bed and tried to straighten out her uniform and bed head hair with her fingers.

"Me?" he exclaimed. "How was I supposed to stay awake after what you did to me last night", a small wave of satisfaction overcoming him as Rukia's cheeks blushed red.

"How am I going to get out of here?" she asked desperately choosing to ignore Ichigo's comment.

Ichigo looked at the clock on his desk and realised it was not as late as he first thought. "Breakfast is going to be served in the dining hall in 5 minutes which coincides with security shift change. You should be able to sneak out then" he informed his distressed girlfriend hoping the information would soothe her.

Relief flooded through Rukia as she realised she stood a chance of making it out of Ichigo's room and the grounds undetected. From what she recalled of her time at the Academy everyone ate breakfast at the same time every day so the grounds should be pretty quiet. "Thank goodness. I have to be at a Lieutenants meeting in an hour" she heaved with a sigh.

"I guess you better be going then?" Ichigo asked, a wave of sadness washing over him as he got up and moved towards Rukia. Tenderly he ran his fingers through her hair in an effort to restrain the wild locks. Having gone so long without seeing Rukia and having her do what she did to him last night he was reluctant to let her go.

"Yeah" she responded sadly as she placed a lingering kiss on her boyfriend's lips. As soon as the kiss broke Ichigo's lips were on hers again within seconds and their kiss soon heated up. Hearing the drum sound for breakfast the two broke apart with wide eyes and panting breaths.

"I've got to go" Rukia exclaimed sadly, although neither let the other go.

"I know. I Love you. See you Saturday?" Ichigo exclaimed.

"See you Saturday" she confirmed with a nod "Love you too, baka" Rukia replied teasingly as she rubbed one of Ichigo's nipples and loving the gasp of breath he took. With Ichigo distracted she slipped from his arms instantly missing his embrace.

Missing his girlfriend's presence Ichigo lunged for her one last time just before she reached his window.

"Let me go!" she whispered trying not to giggled as Ichigo licked a particularly sensitive spot on her neck.

"Make me" he exclaimed as he continued his work on his girlfriend.

"Bakudo number 1: Sai!" she said simply.

Ichigo felt his arms immediately pulled behind his back giving his girlfriend just enough time to slink out of his reach and to the window before he broke the binds of the spell.

"See you Saturday" she stated with a smile before she leapt out of the window.

Ichigo ran his hands through his hair as he made a mental note never to challenge his girlfriend whilst they were making out again.

* * *

_So I know that some of you might be upset that I didn't write the whole Rukia and Captain Kyoraku scene, and the truth is I tried but found I kept channelling Captain Kyoraku's thoughts rather than Rukia's. Seeing as the story is primarily focused on Rukia and Ichigo's thoughts and feelings I didn't want to include Captain Kyoraku's too and I decided to try a different method and came up with this. _

_I also wanted to show that Ichigo and Rukia's physical relationship is moving along, albeit slowly, and that Rukia is feeling more comfortable and adventurous around Ichigo. The intention was not for it to be smut for smuts sake and I apologise if it came across like this. _

_Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Until next time... _


	16. Chapter 16

_Bit later than expected, but here's the next chapter of Moving On. Hope you enjoy! _

* * *

"Rukia-kun, relax" came the lazy drawl of Captain Kyoraku "It won't be that bad. We'll go in, answer a few questions, have tea, and be done in a few hours".

"Hai" Rukia replied in a tone that she hoped belied her nervousness. She was currently stood next to the Captain of the 8th Division in the Reception of the Spiritual Arts Academy waiting to be directed to the classroom they would be guest lecturing in today. Due to the high standing that the Kuchiki's and the Kyoraku's had within both the Gotei 13 and the Noble Houses, the Captains of the 6th and the 8th were brought in every year on Soul Society History day to guest lecture a history class however, today there had been a slight change of plans.

Last night one of the Kuchiki Elder's had died meaning that Byakuya had had to attend to the funeral arrangements of the Elder today, and the responsibility of giving the lectured had been passed to Rukia by Byakuya himself. Really she didn't see the point of Soul Society History Day or the guest lecturing seeing as most of the students were of noble decent anyway, but duty was duty and she would uphold the Kuchiki name at her brother's request.

It wasn't that she was nervous about delivering the lecture itself - she was a Lieutenant after all and was quite comfortable speaking to crowds of soul reapers - it was the prospect of running into a _particular_ soul reaper that made her nervous. Ever since entering the Academy she had not been able to stop thinking about what had happened the last time she had been here. With Ichigo. In his bed. She prayed to whatever deity that was out there that _he_ wasn't in the class that she would be lecturing in.

"Captain Kyoraku, Lieutenant Kuchiki. If you would please follow me" came the soft voice of one of the Academy's secretaries and together both Captain Kyoraku and she followed the secretary down the corridors of the Academy. Almost immediately Captain Kyoraku started walking alongside the secretary as he started charming (flirting) with her and Rukia tuned the conversation out as her mind drifted to memories of her time at the Academy. It had been decades since she had been in the main body of the Academy (the few times she had snuck in to see Ichigo and Graduations ceremonies being the exception), yet the place still smelt the same - musty wood with a hint of detergent and day old food. The displays on the walls may have changed, but they were still painted the same colour, albeit slightly more faded now, and the signs indicating the year and class grade still hung on every door with the school logo proudly displayed on every one.

Suddenly she realised that the secretary and Captain Kyoraku had stopped and it took all of her muscle control not to plough into the pair in front of her. The secretary knocked on the classroom door and smiled warmly at both Captain Kyorku and her as she waited for a response from the teacher. "You'll be lecturing in class 4A today - that's the advanced class of the 4th year. You may already know one of the students here actually as this is Ichigo Kurosaki's class" she informed them kindly.

Rukia could have sworn her heart stopped beating at that very moment.

* * *

Ichigo was in a foul mood. Today was 'Soul Society History Day' meaning that all of the lessons today had been focused around key events in Soul Society's history. So far he had participated in a battle re-enactment where he'd had to play himself as he rescued "Rukia" from the "Sokyoku" again (and then analyse what he could have done better!), analysed and evaluated the battle strategy from the Arrancar invasion of Karakura town, and listened to a lecture from members of Central 46 explain how the history of Soul Society had influenced the laws that were in effect today (how he hadn't fallen asleep in that lecture he still had no idea). Now it was time for his history lesson and rumour had it that some of the heads of the Noble Clans were going to give a lecture on the Noble Houses and their influence on Soul Society. Seriously, how was any of this going to help him, or any other soul reaper for that matter, when they were faced with an enemy? A hollow was not going to give you time to explain why it really shouldn't kill the soul reaper it had in its claw because that soul reaper was a member of whatever noble family in Soul Society. No, the hollow was just going to kill the soul reaper unless the soul reaper killed it first.

Ichigo tuned out as his teacher started the introduction for the lesson as the class waited for whatever nobles were coming to turn up. He slouched on the bench in the lecture hall in a futile attempt at getting comfortable and started doodling on his notebook. A few minutes later his interest was piqued as he heard the door to the classroom open and he looked up in time to see Captain Kyoraku and Rukia walk in.

Suddenly his heart sped up. Rukia was here? What the hell was she doing here? He hadn't seen her for a few weeks, she'd not even had time to visit the orphanage as she'd been so tied up looking after the 13th Division seeing as Captain Ukitake was still in the Fourth. In fact, he hadn't seen her since that night in his bedroom when she had surprised him in more ways than one. Almost instantly images from that night flew into his head and he felt himself stir excitedly. He shifted once again on the bench, this time so he could sit up and lean forward to hide the little problem that was developing in his hakama, and he swallowed harshly as his eyes met Rukia's and his manhood started throbbing more insistently. Had she always looked this hot in her uniform? How had he never noticed before? Ichigo swallowed a groan as he realised that the next couple of hours were going to be extremely long and painful one for him if his growing erection was anything to go by.

Rukia's heart thundered to life as she entered the auditorium. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad? The auditorium was huge and there were over a two hundred trainee soul reapers in the class so what were the chances that she would see Ichigo anyway?

She got her answer almost immediately. Orange was the first colour she saw as she walked through the door and almost instantly Ichigo's eyes met with hers. She felt her cheeks flush at the sight of him and she hoped that her face was not as red as she feared it was. However, her face was not her only problem. Upon seeing Ichigo for the first time in _weeks_ she felt raw desire flood through her body and she thanked Kami that her uniform was black and would therefore hide the damp patch that was currently growing in her undergarments. She tried not to wince as her nipples hardened and scratched against the harsh fabric of her chest bindings, and she hoped to kami that the bindings and her uniform were thick enough to hide the telltale protrusions.

Taking her place beside Captain Kyoraku and the usual class teacher she tried her best to break the eye contact between her and Ichigo, but she couldn't. She just couldn't. Kami! How was she going to get through this lecture when all she could hear was the thundering of blood in her eyes and all she could see was Ichigo.

She was jostled from her panicked reverie by Captain Kyoraku's gentle nudge and deep voice.

"Why don't you begin with the history of the Kuchiki clan, Lieutenant Kuchiki?" he stated jovially, and as Rukia turned to look up at him she saw a knowing look in his eyes.

Rukia gulped as she stepped towards the podium and frantically reached for the notes she'd hidden in the sleeve of her uniform as her mind went blank and she felt an all new type of fear wash over her. The tough card seemed to snap her back to reality and she was overcome by a wave of pride, power, and duty. Captain Kyoraku had been kind enough to practice this lecture with her until the early hours of this morning (many thanks to Lieutenant Ise's locating and dragging said Captain back to the Kuchiki manor and confiscating his sake until the work had been done) and she was not going to let herself or Captain Kyoraku down. She was one of the highest ranked officers in the Gotei 13 and a member of Kuchiki clan for goodness sake. She was not going to embarrass herself or her family because she could not control the desire and lust she felt for Ichigo Kurosaki. Taking a deep breath and straightening her shoulders she began.

"The Kuchiki clan can trace its roots back to..."

* * *

Ichigo anxiously paced outside of the lecture hall purposefully ignoring the teasing comments his so called friends were throwing at him. How had a history lesson about the Noble Houses of Soul Society descended into a question and answer session about why he had saved Rukia from the Sokyoku and how he felt about her, leading him to say the most regretful thing of his life?

Kami! The look on her face as those words had slipped out of his mouth was enough to almost break his heart in two, and a part of him feared that what he had said may have just ended the greatest relationship he had ever been in. Never did he want to be the person that made Rukia's face look like that and he hated himself for his actions. Why had he let his classmates wind him up like that?

He needed to see Rukia. He needed to make sure that she was ok, that _they_ were ok. He knew he should be heading for his next class, and he knew he would be on punishment for a week if he didn't get there, but after what had just happened his priority right now was Rukia. Seconds later his girlfriend came rushing out of the lecture hall and walked straight into him.

"Rukia!" he stated desperately as he clutched her shoulders, the look she gave him sent a knife straight through the remnants of his heart.

Rukia looked up into the concerned eyes of the man that until 15 minutes ago she'd thought had loved her. A wave of hurt and pain washed through her, and much to her chagrin, she felt her eyes burn with tears. Violently she shook Ichigo's hands away from her shoulders.

"Stay away from me" she stated in a low deadly voice, fully aware that Captain Kyoraku was standing not far behind her.

"Rukia, please!" Ichigo pleaded quietly as he reached for her arm. He needed her to understand why he had said what he had.

"No! You've said enough!" she stated venomously. "Please just let me go, Ichigo" she stated quietly and he could clearly hear the desperation in her voice.

"Rukia-kun, are you ok?" came Captain Kyoraku's lazy drawl, a hint of protectiveness and concern in his tone.

"Hai" she replied in a steady voice as she turned to meet his gaze. "I'll meet you in the dining hall in a minute, I just need to speak to Kurosaki-san".

Captain Kyoraku stared at the pair seemingly unsure of what to do "Don't you have class to get to, Ichigo?" he asked in a tone of authority.

"Free period" Ichigo answered distractedly, his eyes never leaving Rukia's face. Ok, so technically it was a lie, but really what was more important now? Practicing shunpo or saving the relationship with the woman he loved.

Resignation flashed into Captain Kyoraku's eyes before he shook his head and sighed "I'll be back in 10 minutes if you're not in the dining hall by then, Rukia-kun. You can't let me deal with all these students by myself".

"Hai" she replied respectfully as Captain Kyoraku turned and started walking in the direction of the dining hall. 10 minutes was more than adequate for what she had in mind anyway. There wasn't anything left to say as far as she was concerned. They were over, plain and simple.

The second bell rang signalling the start of the next lesson and Ichigo looked around to see that the corridors were in fact deserted. If he was caught with Rukia in the hallway now not only would he be in serious trouble, but their secret may also be discovered. Looking around he quickly saw an answer to their predicament.

"Come on, in here" he started forcefully as he all but dragged Rukia into the stationery cupboard and locked the door behind them.

"What the hell Ichigo! Let me go! You have no right to drag me in here! I am the Lieutenant in the Gotei 13 and right now you are simply a student in the Spiritual Arts Academy. I could have you arrested for insubordination" she yelled at him, anger and indignation burning within her.

Ichigo felt the desperation that her been swirling inside him turn to anger at Rukia's righteous comment "Well my being a student certainly didn't seem to bother you too much the last time you were here" he informed her snidely, a flash of triumph washing through him as he saw her cheeks turn red. "Besides, do you really want to do this in the corridor where anyone can hear?"

"There's nothing to say. You've just made your feelings perfectly clear. What was it you said? 'I've never loved that woman, never have, never will'. I think that just about clears everything up" she stated coldly, every fibre of her being willing herself not to cry.

Kuchiki's did not cry.

She would not cry over him.

How could she have been so stupid? She'd honestly let herself believe that Ichigo had loved her, and she had loved him too - still did despite how much his words had hurt her. She'd opened up to him, shown him the orphanage - her most prized accomplishment -, let him touch her, let herself touch him, and for what? To feel like her heart had been ripped out, stomped on, put through a shredder, and then shoved back in her chest? She'd thought they'd been good together, but had she just been another notch on his bedpost? Someone to keep him amused until he graduated the Academy and had access to more women?

"What did you want me to say?" he replied angrily, his dark angry reiatsu rolling off him in waves "I loved her back then but I was just a stupid teenager and didn't know it? I've loved her ever since but I never realised it until the night I died and now I love her more than anything or anyone I've ever loved? Excuse me if I don't want the entire Academy, hell the entire of Soul Society, to know about us! That I love you! Call me old fashioned, but I've told you time and time again that I want to do this properly. As soon as I'm out of here and I have a seated position I'm going to speak to Byakuya about dating you. Once the prescribed dating period has passed I'm going to ask Byakuya's permission to marry you, and Kami help him if he doesn't agree because I will fight and kill each and every Kuchiki if I have to until they agree to let me marry you. Rukia, I love you" he stated earnestly.

Rukia heard every word Ichigo said, she could hear the honesty in each syllable that came from his mouth. She wanted to believe him, she really did, but it didn't stop her heart, her very being as a soul, from hurting. "You're lying" she stated quietly, her voice catching much to her annoyance causing her to look away from his intense chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm not" Ichigo replied honestly. Tentatively he cupped her cheek with his hand and turned her head to look at him. "I love that you're not scared of me, of what I am. I love your passion and your loyalty. I love your devotion and your grace. I love your determination and your sense of justice. I love that on the outside you appear like any other Kuchiki with a stick shoved up their ass".

Rukia's eyes flashed with indignation and she opened her mouth to speak but was silenced as Ichigo placed his index finger from his other hand over her lips "Shhh. Just listen. I love that despite how cold and uptight you appear on the outside, on the inside you are warm and caring and compassionate and loving, and that you never give up on me. You're not afraid to kick my butt into gear when I need it, and I love you for that. I need you in my life. I love you so much, Rukia, you have to believe me" his own voice catching as he muttered the last sentence. Kami! When had he become so soppy?

Rukia felt the tears well up as she heard Ichigo's declaration of love. Ichigo had told her he loved her before, but she'd had no idea of just how _much_ he loved her. Kami! How could she put into words how much she loved the baka in front of her? As she heard his voice catch she felt the final piece of her broken heart fall back into place and she pulled Ichigo down to kiss him furiously. She poured all of her feelings and emotions into that kiss as she tried to convey to Ichigo all that he meant to her.

Ichigo watched Rukia like a hawk as she digested his speech, his heart beating frantically and desperation filling his soul as he willed her to believe him. She had to believe him, now that he had her he couldn't live without her. He watched mesmerised as the hurt and fear that had been so evident in her eyes only moments ago changed into warmth and understanding. He was taken aback as the next thing he knew she was kissing him and he had never received a kiss so filled with love and need before. It was like she was trying to tell him how much she loved him with her mouth, and as soon as the initial shock was over, he was kissing her back pouring all his love for her into the point where their mouths met.

Weeks had passed since he'd last seen her and the passion within him built quickly. The semi hard-on he had been harbouring for the past two hours turned into a raging erection within minutes and before he could stop himself he had somehow lifted Rukia up and rested her against the shelf of one of the storage racks. He groaned as she wrapped her legs around his waist and started to grind herself into him.

Rukia felt like she was floating on a cloud of love and happiness as she felt Ichigo respond to her kiss with as much love and tenderness and she was pouring into it. She moaned as she felt his hands move down her body and massage her backside possessively before lifting her up and pressing her against the storage shelves. Kami! If this was what making up was like they should fall out more often! Her body was on fire and she was loving every minute of what they were doing, but she needed more. She felt Ichigo press himself against her and she frantically started rubbing herself against him, his responding groan making more wetness pool between her legs. She felt him retaliate to her ministrations by moving him mouth to her neck and lavishing it with nips, sucks, kisses and bites and she moaned wantonly at his actions, her hand snaking around him and pulling him closer to her as the other manoeuvred itself into his hair and grabbed it fiercely.

Ichigo felt like he was on fire. The heat, the passion, the need, that had built between so quickly was nearly all consuming, and as he heard Rukia moan and grind herself faster against him the desperation to feel her skin against his reached fever pitch. Desperately he pulled the shoulder of her uniform as far as he could down her arm and slipped his hand inside to palm her breast, growling in frustration as he realised her chest was bound. Frantically he started clawing at the annoying bindings only to have Rukia jerk against him hungrily as his nails raked over the bindings that were covering her nipples.

Rukia gasped as she felt Ichigo's hand against her chest. Her nipples were already peaked and sensitive against the rough material of her bindings, but then Ichigo's fingernails raked over the area and she cried out in pleasured pain as electricity shot from her breast to her core. She was about to return the favour when she heard a knock at the door.

"Are you guys finished yet?" came the amused voice of Captain Kyorku.

"SHIT!" Ichigo exclaimed as he jumped back from Rukia with wide eyes. It was only things to her quick reflexes as a soul reaper that she managed to steady herself on her shaky legs.

"Baka! You dropped me!" she exclaimed angrily.

"I think we have a bigger problem now!" Ichigo hissed pointed to the door.

Rukia's eyes widened as she realised that Captain Kyoraku was standing outside the door and that Ichigo and she had effectively been discovered mid make-out session.

Another knock sounded from the door "Do I need to come and rescue you Rukia-kun?" came the sing-song voice of Captain Kyoraku.

"N..No!" Rukia exclaimed, cringing at the huskiness that still coated her voice "I'll be out in a minute!"

Both soul reapers stared at each other incredulously and in that moment they realised their dishevelled state. Hastily they started to re-arrange their uniforms and hands were hastily brushed through hair in an effort to look composed again.

"Who's going to go out first?" Rukia asked in a panicked voice.

"Em, you might need to cover me" Ichigo stated as he looked down at the very noticeable bulge in his hakama. Rukia follwed Ichigo's eye line and blushed at the sight.

"Ok. Ready?" she stated simply as she took a deep breath.

Almost exactly a minute later she unlocked the door walked out, Ichigo following her out of the cupboard grabbing a notebook along the way. Captain Kyoraku leaned against the opposite wall wearing a smirk and an amused knowing look. "Get everything sorted out?"

"Hai" Rukia replied in an official tone. "Um, I just needed to talk to Ichigo about a..a report".

"Talk to Ichigo about a report, huh?" Captain Kyoraku replied in an amused tone. "Well Ichigo, shouldn't you be getting along now?"

"Hai Captain" he replied as he turned from behind Rukia and strategically placed the notebook over a certain part of his anatomy before heading off down the hallway.

"And Ichigo" Captain Kyoraku called after the orange haired student.

"Hai" Ichigo replied dutifully as he looked over his shoulder towards the Captain and his girfriend.

"You might want to take care of that little problem before your next lesson" the Captain said as he nodded towards Ichigo's groin "I hear the restrooms on the 1st floor are pretty quiet this time of the day".

Ichigo blushed a deeper shade of red as he ground out a reply. "Hai".

Rukia stared between the Captain and her baka of a boyfriend in complete horror as she watched the scene unfold between them. Ichigo and she had officially been caught, and by a Captain no less. Fear and shame washed over her as the ramifications of what Ichigo and she had just been caught doing washed over her.

She bowed deeply as she addressed the superior officer "Captain Kyoraku..."

"Relax Rukia-kun" he cut her off as he rested a hand on her shoulder gently "If I had a kan for every time I was caught making out in a stationery cupboard by Yami-ji when I was a student here I'd be a rich man - well a richer man. Besides it good to see you live a little. Byakuya-san needs to let you get out more".

"Are you going to tell my brother?" Rukia all but whispered, her head still bowed in shame.

Captain Kyoraku chuckled at her question. "If I was going to tell your brother don't you think I would have done it by now?"

"You already knew?" she asked in confusion as she raised her head up to meet the Captain's eyes. "I should've known that Captain Ukitake would tell you" she muttered as an afterthought.

The Captain started slightly in surprise. "Ju knows? Well I'll have to have words with him as he certainly hasn't told me anything about the two of you" he chuckled. "No, I've had my suspicions about you two ever since Ichigo's 'Welcome to Soul Society' party. The way you tracked him around the bar with your eyes and the jealousy on your face made me suspect that something was growing between you two. And then when you finally met at the bar! Boy, the sparks flying between the two of you were almost tangible! Then when you came to my quarters a few weeks ago stating that you'd just happened to come across an article about tuberculosis in a magazine you had brought back from the Human World the last time you were there, I grew suspicious as you haven't been on a mission to the living world since the night Ichigo died. I know that Ichigo's old man is a doctor so I suspected you had spoken to Ichigo at least. I didn't know just how much you two were together though."

Captain Kyoraku turned serious and met Rukia's gaze "But you have to be careful. The Kuchiki's take the innocence of their woman extremely seriously. Kuchiki men can sleep with who they want - both before and after marriage - but woman are a different matter. Ichigo is a good man and I know that he'll do the right thing eventually, but if Byakuya-san finds out before Ichigo has the chance then there will be serious repercussions for you both."

"I know" Rukia replied quietly, but in a deadly serious tone. "Thank you".

"Ah, don't worry about it" he replied in his usual laid back tone "It's the least I can do after you saved Jushiro's life".

Rukia started at Captain Kyoraku's confession. "But I didn't do anything" she exclaimed in surprise "the Twelfth came up with a cure in time".

"Ah, but if it had not been for your plan the Twelfth would never have found the cure they did..."

"You mean _you_ went to the Living World to get the medication?" she exclaimed, a spark of satisfaction igniting within her as her suspicions were confirmed.

"Now we both have a secret on each other..." Captain Kyoraku replied with a wink and a kind smile and Rukia found herself smiling right back.

* * *

_I have to admit I think this scene was better in my head than it is on paper, but I hope you enjoyed in nonetheless. _

_Life is still pretty hectic still but I'll try and update again some time in the next 2-3 weeks. Roll on Easter when things should settle down at bit! _


	17. Chapter 17

_A bit later than anticipated, but here's Chapter 17! Apologies for the delay and thank you for the reviews, alerts and favourites in the meantime. _

_I've almost finished drafting this story now so hopefully updates will be a bit more regular going forward. _

**_Disclaimer_**_ Yep, still don't own it. _

* * *

Rukia stomped towards the storage cupboard at the orphanage where she knew that Ichigo was currently getting changed into his "regular" clothes in preparation for their date tonight. However, after the way Ichigo had behaved all day today going on a date with him was the last thing she wanted to do. Reaching the door of the storage cupboard she threw it open and marched into the room slamming the door behind her.

"What the hell is wrong with you today, Ichigo?" she all but yelled at him as she purposefully ignored the way her heart sped up as she caught the sight of Ichigo's muscular back before it was covered by his clothing.

"Nothing he replied irritably as he turned to face his girlfriend.

"Don't you dare 'nothing' me" Rukia seethed "All day you have been snapping at the kids and walking around with the biggest scowl on your face".

Ichigo's eyes flashed with annoyance as he replied "I said nothing is wrong with me. Drop it" he warned in a low voice.

Rukia was slightly taken aback by Ichigo's tone, but she would not be deterred. Her boyfriend had been acting like a jerk all day and she was determined to get to the bottom of things. It there was one thing she had learned as a Kuchiki it was to never take no for an answer.

"What am I supposed to drop if you've just said there's nothing wrong with you?" she replied smarly, her irritation increasing further as she felt Ichigo's reiatsu rise. She increased her slightly to let him know that she would not backing down from this fight.

"That's the problem with you Rukia, you never let things drop" he snarled in return. "I said there was nothing wrong with me and I'm fine"

"Baka! You are not fine!" Rukia exclaimed angrily. "All day you've been wallowing in yourself and you've been snapping at everyone. Kami, you almost had Mai-chan in tears this afternoon when you refused to do a puppet show!"

"Did not!"

"Did too! "

"Did not!"

"Did t.." Rukia tailed off and sighed as she shook her head, suddenly aware that the two of them were sounding like Kiyone and Sentaro." Ichigo just continued to stare at her with a mixture of anger and contempt.

"You don't want to tell me? Fine!" she continued as she threw her hands up in the air in frustration "But do not come back here until you've stopped acting like a jerk! It's not fair on the kids" _or me_ she added as an afterthought.

Still not receiving a response she turned to walk out of the room.

"My final exams are in a few weeks" she heard a voice mutter from behind her causing her to stop, her hand still resting on the door.

"So?" she queried as she turned her head to look at her jerk of a boyfriend. "I thought you were doing well in all your classes?"

Ichigo sighed as he looked at the puzzled expression on his girlfriend's face and suddenly all the fight went out of him. He sunk onto the tatty futon that was laid on the floor as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I'm on target to graduate in all my classes except one".

Rukia's eyes widened at Ichigo's response. As far as she was aware he was on course to graduate at the end of the year meaning he would have surpassed all three of the last prodigies, Kaien Shiba, Gin Ichimaru, and Toshiro Hitsuguya. Failure was never an option with Ichigo, so if he genuinely thought that he might not graduate then it would explain Ichigo's recent temperament.

"Which class?" she asked softly.

"Kido" he replied flatly.

"Ichigo, I'm a kido master, I can help you with that" she offered sincerely, her heart aching at the dejected frustrated look on Ichigo's face.

Ichigo simply scoffed "No offence Rukia, but if the Kido Professor is struggling to get me to pass year 2 Kido even with extra lessons then I doubt there's much you can do".

Rukia felt insulted and hurt by Ichigo's words. Why hadn't he told her before he was struggling? They could have added months of extra practice during their time together. Wasn't the possibility of not graduating something you should tell your girlfriend? Seeing his dejected stance and wallowing expression anger and indignation washed over her and she walked up to him and stamped on his foot.

"OWWW!" Ichigo exclaimed. "What the hell was that for?" he asked his girlfriend angrily who was currently stood in front of him glaring at him with her hands on her hips. It had been a long time since he had seen her look at him like that and he couldn't say that he missed it.

"Baka! Was I not the one who taught you how to be a Soul Reaper in the first place? And now you think _I_ can't teach _you_ kido?" she yelled. "Your problem Kurosaki is that..."

Suddenly there was a loud noise from the Reception of the orphanage followed by shouts and the sound of heavy footsteps running deeper into the orphanage. Only seconds later screaming could be heard from the orphanage's playground causing both soul reapers to run out of the room and towards the sound of the commotion.

Upon entering the playground both Rukia and Ichigo stalled as they took in the sight before them. In one corner of the playground nearly all the children were huddled together with Natsumi and Mieko and some of the older girls trying to comfort the younger, more scared, children as best they could. In front of them stood Masa and some of the older boys in defensive positions, their only weapons being the few meagre outdoor toys the orphanage owned.

Rukia did not hesitate and within seconds she had placed a protective kido shield around the group, earning a relieved and grateful nod from Natsumi, Masa and Mieko. For a split second Ichigo could not help but be in awe of his girlfriend and the power she now had. He'd known she was a kido expert twenty years ago, but she had just placed that shield in seconds without so much as muttering a spell and he once again realised just how much Rukia's power had grown in the past 20 years. She truly was a kido expert now.

However, his attention was quickly drawn to the other corner of the playground where a menacing gang of young men with swords stood, one of which already had fresh blood on it. But that wasn't what got Ichigo's attention. In the middle of the group stood a petrified Mai who was being restrained by one of the men. Silent tears were pouring down her face and she stood in a puddle of what he assumed was urine from where she appeared to have wet herself in fear. Anger surged through Ichigo and he Instinctively reached for Zangetsu, only to realise in frustration that his zanpaktou was still at the Academy as students were not allowed to take their zanpaktou outside of the Academy grounds unless they were on a training session. Panic flooded through him and for the first time in a long time he felt vulnerable, but he quickly suppressed the feeling as he took stock of the situation. Glancing around the playground there was nothing that could realistically be called a weapon which left him with kido and sheer brute strength.

Rukia's eyes narrowed as she immediately recognised the leader of the gang and she withdraw Sode No Shirayuki from the place she had concealed it within her orphanage "uniform". It may have been 15 years since she had last seen the wakagashira of the local Yakuza, but she would never forget his scraggly greasy hair, his yellowing teeth or the tattoos that adorned his neck and arms.

"You!" she hissed in distaste.

"Is that the welcome I get shinigami after last time?" the wakagashira of the local yakuza mocked "Or are you just annoyed that I got through your defences this time, eh? Very clever of you to cloak this place in a protective barrier, but you see, I figured it out. You couldn't protect the front otherwise how else would you be able to collect this scum?" he said indicating the group of children being kept safe by the barrier. "You left yourself open for an attack. And leaving that old man at the front to defend this place? Well, he was no problem at all. He's dead now by the way. You would've been better stationing that long haired stoic bastard that came to your rescue last time, at least he would've given a better fight! Maybe next time I can fight the stoic bastard instead" the wakagashira added with a chuckle.

Rukia felt a stab of pain in her heart as she realised that the wakagashira was referring to Yoshio and she heard a wail come from behind her as Natsumi realised her husband had been murdered. But she would not be distracted as it was now up to her, and she hoped Ichigo, to defend the orphanage.

"What can I say? You got me. But you forget, I beat you last time and I'll do it again now" and with that she prepared to release her first attack.

"Uh, uh, uh! You wouldn't want to hurt her now, would you?" the wakagashira mocked as he reached behind him and pulled a young girl in front of himself as a shield, adding his sword against her throat as an extra defence. Mai sobbed loudly as she felt the metal bite against the thin skin of her throat.

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise. Mai-chan! She'd thought all the children were behind the kido barrier. How had she not realised before that Mai-chan was in trouble?

"Leave the girl alone" came a deep deadly tone beside her and gratitude washed over her as she realised that Ichigo had stayed to fight beside her even though he did not have his zanpaktou with him.

"And you are?" the wakagashira asked, his interest now piqued.

"The person who's going to murder your arse unless you let the girl go and leave" came Ichigo's deadly response. He may not have his zanpaktou but he was not going to let anyone hurt Rukia, or Mai, or anyone else that was behind the barrier that Rukia had cast. He knew that Rukia would be using some of her spiritual pressure to maintain that spell and she would need his help to fight the 10 strong gang.

The wakagashira laughed before him "And how are you going to do that? You don't even have a sword!"

Ichigo let his spiritual pressure flare just enough to cause the man before him to stop laughing, after all he did not want to hurt Mai-chan.

"I see. Not as useless as you appear" the wakagashira answered with a serious glint in his eye.

"What do you want with the girl?" Rukia demanded.

"This brat? Well you see, she may have witnessed something she shouldn't have so she has to go. No offence" he gestured to Mai who only sobbed harder. "You're from Inuzuri, you know things go. You see something you shouldn't, you die".

"Except your shatei couldn't even do that right. You can't be a very good wakagashira if your staff can't carry out orders" Rukia mocked with a smirk.

Fury ignited in the wakagashira's eyes "Why you..."

Ichigo watched the wakagashira intently as he conversed with Rukia and as the last words left his mouth he saw the miniscule twitch of his wrist as he tightened his hand, presumably readying himself to slash Mai's throat. Pure instinct took over and before he really knew what he was doing he had flashed stepped over to the wakagashira, grabbed Mai out of his arms whilst simultaneously casting the spell for hado 31 Shakkaho, and throwing the deadly ball of fire against the wakagashira's stomach as he shunpoed away with Mai. Shocked cries came from behind him as the wakagashira dead body fell to the ground and he gently set Mai down next to the kido barrier. He realised to his chagrin that he couldn't get Mai inside as the barrier was meant to protect its occupants.

Behind him he heard the clashing of swords and Rukia's voice casting numerous kido spells and he realised his actions had triggered the fight and that he needed to get there soon before Rukia was overwhelmed. He didn't regret it though. That bastard deserved to die after his order to have Mai killed just because she had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Every instinct told him to get back to the fight, to protect Rukia and to seek justice for Mai, but he couldn't leave the sobbing girl without protection.

Looking between the barrier, the fight and the little girl he realised his only option was to cast the barrier shield himself. He knew the spell as his problem with kido was not memorising the spell, but the ability to control the amount of power in it.

"Mai, I know you're scared but I need you to stand very still for me as I need to concentrate on hiding you, ok?" he informed the small child in a soft reassuring voice.

Mai simply nodded her head even though she continued crying.

"Good" he reassured with a smile. Taking a deep breath and using all his concentration and control he cast the spell for the kido barrier that he had never attempted before. Seconds later Mai was protected within a glowing yellow box and he breathed a sigh of relief that the spell had worked.

"All done Mai. They can't hurt you now" he reassured with a smile as he consciously maintained the power level for the spell and made a mental note to remember the shield as he turned and headed towards the fight.

"Need any help?" he asked his girlfriend nonchalantly as he approached.

"Took you long enough" she replied tartly. "Is Mai-chan safe?" Rukia queried with a frown as she blocked an attack with Bakudo number 39 Enkosen, whilst Ichigo grabbed the wrist of an attacker, broke it, and easily removed the attacker's sword which he then used to stab and kill him.

"Yeah, I placed a protective shield around her so she should be fine" he replied as he used the recently obtained sword to block another attack as Rukia blasted another assailant with Hado number 31 Shakkaho. He had to give the woman credit as she made it look so easy.

"Ready to kick these guys arses?" he asked, taken aback when one of their assailants seemed to call for their sword to form a shikai. Apparently the yakuza had some talent after all.

Rukia quickly cast a glance at Ichigo and noted the surprise on his face. "These guys are all trained fighters and are the top tier of defence for the kumicho. They have spiritual pressure and zanpaktous and they know how to use them. Are you up for it?" she asked seriously.

Ichigo simply smirked as he answered "When am I never up for a fight when it comes to protecting the ones I love?" and with that a shot of lightning was emitted from the stolen sword as he cast Hado 11 Tsuzuri Raiden.

"Let's kick butt then!" Rukia yelled as she released her shikai.

The next 15 minutes were filled with the sounds of clashing swords, flashes of reiatsu, and the flashing of lights from the various kidos that were cast, but in the end the shinigami duo were successful and all 10 of the yakuza gang were dead. The playground was scorched and filled with potholes from the after effects of the battle and puddles of water were forming from the ice of Rukia's zanpaktou.

Rukia and Ichigo stood still with panting breaths as they surveyed the scene and for a few seconds an eerie silence descended on the playground.

"I thought you said you were struggling with kido?" Rukia asked in confusion.

Ichigo paused before he answered. Truthfully he had been struggling with kido, but somehow in this fight he had let his instincts take over as he'd lost himself in battle and the kido had flowed easily from him. It was if everything had suddenly clicked into place and he'd tried new spells that he had only ever read before to great effect. As his confidence and comfort with the newly acquired skill had grown he had started to cast the spell through the stolen sword to give the spell greater power, and he had even combined some spells to great effect. Each spell had been powerful and steady and on target too, unlike when he normally trained at the Academy. Not having Zangetsu with him had made him realise how reliant he had become on his zanpaktou and it was reassuring to know that even without it he could successfully win in battle.

"I was, but somehow when the sole purpose wasn't casting a kido spell it came easily" he answered with a shrug.

Rukia just chuckled beside him "That's so like you! Give you months to practice and train and you struggle, but when the pressure is on you get it so quickly. If you perform like that during your final kido exam I don't think you have anything to worry about" she reassured her boyfriend.

"Thanks" Ichigo replied with a relieved smile. Seeing the flushed skin of Rukia's face fresh from battle and the knowledge that he had just helped clear some of the scum off of the Rukongai streets he was unable to stop himself from stepping forwards and kissing Rukia passionately, causing catcalls and whistles to sound behind them from the occupants protected by the kido shield.

Abruptly the two shinigami parted with blushes on their faces. "What do you say we release the shields?" Rukia stated quietly to which Ichigo nodded. Seconds later the glowing kido barriers were gone and all the children, including Mai, rushed free. Above the heads of the fleeing children Rukia's eyes met with Natsumi and widened in horror as she saw her tear filled eyes.

"Yoshio!" she cried as she turned and ran towards the front of the orphanage, Natsumi and Mieko hot on her tail. How could she forget that the wakagashira had said he killed Yoshio?

Seconds later she skidded into the entrance of the building and saw Yoshio lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She rushed towards him, dropping to her knees as she reached his prone body and immediately started searching for signs of life.

"He's alive!" she exclaimed quietly to Natsumi and Mieko. Relief flooded through her body and her hands lit with healing kido as she started to stabilise him.

"How's he doing?" Ichigo asked as he joined the group at the doorway.

"He's alive but we need to get him to the 4th as soon as I have finished this" she informed Ichigo as she peered up at her boyfriend.

Ichigo's brow creased in consternation. "Will they let him in the 4th?" he asked.

"Damn!" Rukia exclaimed. She forgot that they were in Inuzuri and that the Natsumi, Yoshio, Mieko and Masa weren't shinigami. "We'll take him to the Kuchiki Manor and I will speak to Byakuya. At the very least the family doctors can help him" she stated with determination.

"Natsumi, Mieko, I know it's a lot to ask but can you stay here tonight with the children?" Rukia asked the two woman softly. "With the wakagahira and his men gone I fear the kumicho will want retaliation on us. I will double the barriers on the orphanage and seal the entrance for tonight, and I'll see if I can get Byakuya to come here too for the night in case they come back".

"Hai" Natsumi answered softly "Yoshio fought to save the children and he would want us to protect them now".

A sombre silence descended over of the small room as Rukia worked on Yoshio and ten minutes later the glow of her hands stopped.

"He's stable enough to transport him but we have to go now. Ichigo, can you help me carry him?" she asked wearily.

"Hai" he answered quietly as he knelt by Rukia's side. It was only then that he noticed how exhausted his girlfriend looked and he realised that Rukia must have exerted a lot of her spiritual pressure during the fight maintaining the protective barrier, using her zanpaktou, and also healing Yoshio, let alone the toll the past few weeks had taken on her with Captain Ukitake being ill and having to run the Thirteenth Division. "Let me, Rukia" he commanded softly of his girlfriend and without a further word he lifted the frail body of the elderly man into his arms.

Rukia simply nodded tiredly as she held the door open for Ichigo and closed the door with a tired smile at Natsumi and Mieko. Once outside she double the strength of the protective barriers and also sealed the front entrance to hopefully stop any yakuza getting into the premises for the night.

"Ready?" Ichigo asked his girlfriend and with a nod they both leapt into shunpo towards the Seireiti. They travelled in silence until they reached the first district.

"Ichigo. Wait!" she yelled as she grabbed his arm before he was about to leap into another shunpo. He could feel Yoshio's blood seeping into the clothes on his back and he knew that the man needed medical attention urgently.

"What?" he snapped in irritation. Surely Rukia realised how little time they had.

"You can't come to the Kuchiki Manor whilst my brother is there. He can't know about us Ichigo. He doesn't know we're in contact and I think it's best that it stays that way for the time being, don't you?" she almost pleaded.

Ichigo sighed in frustration. Whilst he loved Rukia, what she said was true and if he was being honest with himself he wasn't quite ready to confront Byakuya about his and Rukia's relationship yet. "Okay" he replied simply and proceeded to carefully place Yoshio onto Rukia's back.

"Are you sure you can manage him?" Ichigo asked with concern, to which Rukia smiled back tiredly.

"Yeah, it's only 10 shunpo steps from here back to the Manor. I'll see you soon Ichigo".

"Yeah" he replied softly. "Love you."

"Love you too baka" she replied with a soft smile, and in a blink of an eye she was gone once again. Ichigo was just about to launch into a shunpo back to the Academy when he heard the telltale tinkling sound of a hell butterfly. His face twisting into his trademark scowl he dutifully held out his hand to receive the message, his widening in surprise at the contents. Seconds later he launched into shunpo, only this time he was heading to a much different location...

* * *

_Special thanks to the reviewer Debido whose review gave me the idea for the fight. _

_Apologies if there are any errors with the kido spells. They are not my strong point and I have done a lot of research on Bleach Wiki but I still can't be sure they are right. Similarly I have very little knowledge of the yakuza so I have had do some research on the internet. Therefore: _

_Wakagashira = first lieutenant in yakuza_

_Shatei = "Little Brothers" (who I've taken to me foot soldiers who do the "dirty work")_

_Let me know what you think and I'll try and get the next chapter up next weekend, although it is my birthday weekend so I'm not sure if I'll have time. _


	18. Chapter 18

_Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and alerts following the last chapter. Apologies for not posting this chapter last weekend but I got caught up with my birthday celebrations and had a lovely time. Plus, this wasn't the original Chapter 18 and it took me some time to write! _

**_Warning:_**_ This chapter mentions rape of an underage girl and gets quite dark (well for me anyway). Read at your own discretion. _

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Still don't own Bleach. _

* * *

Ichigo mindlessly wondered the streets of Inuzuri as darkness fell. He'd had no plans to come here, he had simply decided to take a break from his revision and go for a run to clear his mind as he'd been studying for days for his final exams. The run had turned in to shunpo, and before he knew it he had ended up in Inuzuri.

Ever since the night of the attack on the orphanage he had felt unsettled and he had started to think about his time as a Police officer in Tokyo a lot more, something he hadn't really done since he'd enrolled in the Academy. Not even the worse districts in Tokyo had been like the outer regions of the Rukongai, and as much as it shocked him, the greater part of him felt angry and indignant for the residents. There were a lot of good people in the Rukongai, but they were being overrun by the corrupt and the unlawful and consequently lived in fear.

After he had killed the wakagashira there had been numerous attacks on the orphanage by the yakuza and Rukia, and even Byakuya, had been defending the place regularly. When Rukia had brought Yoshio to her brother she had had no choice but to tell him what had happened at the orphanage. Reluctantly she had also been forced to admit to her brother that he had been assisting there at the weekends. Although Byakuya had not been happy about the rekindling of their old "friendship", he had reluctantly allowed him to keep visiting the orphanage once he had discovered that he had defended the orphanage, and thus his wife's memory, in the attack. He had assisted with defending the orphanage whenever he could, which much to his frustration was mostly at the weekend, but with each member of the yakuza he killed he couldn't help the small sense of satisfaction that came over him. It made him feel like he was doing his small part for the community and making the area a slightly more safer place to live. A positive side effect of all the fighting with the yakuza being that his kido had come on in leaps and bounds and he was now well on his way to being a kido expert, much to his relief.

Thankfully, Byakuya had arranged for Captain Unohara to heal Yoshio, and although the old man was doing much better, he was still resting and recovering at the Kuchiki Family Manor. Often at the weekend Rukia and he would relieve Natsumi and Mieko so that they could visit their beloved husband and father and Byakuya had permitted their presence on the Kuchiki Estate.

Ichigo continued to wander the streets and he realised he'd never really strayed far from the Seireitei or the higher districts of the Rukongai before, his weekends at the orphanage and training missions being the exceptions, but wandering the streets of the far out district he was beginning to realise just how different life was here than it was in the Seireitei. The residents wore dirty rags for clothing and none of them had shoes to cover their feet, the few souls that contained spiritual pressure either lay starving on the sides of the streets begging for food or stealing food from the markets, prostitutes openly advertised themselves for business, and the yakuza clearly patrolled the streets spreading fear and violence wherever they went. How had he been so oblivious to all this before?

Up ahead of him he saw a shady looking young man appear from one of the side alleys, and instantly his brows fused into a deep frown as he recognised the man as one of the shatei from the yakuza that had been attacking the orphanage recently. He started to follow the man in the hope that he would lead him to the home of the yakuza and he could put an end to the vendetta once and for all, but as he passed the alleyway the man had just exited he heard a faint whimper which caused him to pause and look into the alley. He could just make out the shape of _something_ in the dark passageway and his instincts instantly heightened. Something had happened in that alleyway and he was torn between continuing his pursuit of the shatei, or investigating what lay in the dirt. The shape in the alleyway let out another whimper and Ichigo sighed as he made his decision and ventured into the passageway.

"Hey, are you ok?" he called out softly as he approached the dark mass on the floor.

Within seconds the object had moved into a defensive position and Ichigo found himself staring into the bright blue terrified eyes of a teenage girl.

"Relax, I just want to help? My name is Ichigo, what's yours?" he spoke softly as he raised his hands in a surrender gesture. Whatever had happened down here had obviously upset the young girl greatly and he instantly felt his Police instincts kick in.

The girl just continued to stare at him with wide blue eyes that he could now see were brimming with tears and red as if she had been crying.

"Did that man hurt you?" he tried again as he moved towards her again. "I'm a student soul reaper, I might be able to help you?"

The young girl just looked more panic stricken and he saw her eyes flicker frantically around the small space as if she were looking for a weapon. Noting how dark the alleyway was he quickly amended and cast the Shakkaho spell to light up the alleyway hoping that if she could see him she would realise he was here to help, not harm her.

However, the sight that greeted him made a surge of anger rush through him and his blood run cold. Blood ran down between the girl's legs and a hand shaped bruise was quickly forming around her neck, as well as numerous other cuts and bruises on her arms and face.

Ichigo's eyes opened wide and he quickly stepped back as he put two and two together. No wonder the poor girl was so scared. Another man was the last person she probably want to see right now and he didn't know what to do. The Academy training sure as hell hadn't prepared him for this situation and he had never taken the Special Victims course when he was a Police officer, partly because he knew he would not be able to handle working in sex crimes.

"D...did that man...rape you?" he all but gasped as he crouched down to her level, remembering to keep a safe distance away. At this level he could see that one of her arms was tightly clenched around her lower abdomen and she seemed in considerable pain.

The girl started sobbing harder as she nodded her head in the affirmative and her body started quaking with the force of her sobs.

Anger unlike any he had ever felt before rushed through him. "Stay here, I'm going to get help" he tried to reassure her seriously and seconds later he stepped into shunpo heading in the direction he had seen the bastard take. First he had to extract revenge on that sick man.

Less than a minute later he had caught up with the shatei he has seen existing the alley and he tackled him from behind, easily pinning him to the ground whilst he held the bastard's hands in a solid grip in one of his. The man beneath him struggled and he reached for his hip instinctively, realising too late that he was no longer a Police officer and he did not carry a pair of handcuffs anymore. Why had he done that? It had been in Soul Society for months now and this was the first time his Police instincts had taken over. More importantly he realised, he was no longer subject to the laws of the Living World. He did not have to arrest this man, he did not have to worry about being sued for Police brutality, he could do whatever he wanted to him without any repercussions.

Sensing the hesitation of his attacker, the man beneath him managed to loosen his arms from Ichigo's grip and flip himself over, throwing a punch at Ichigo as he did so. Caught off guard Ichigo felt himself fall to the side and the bastard freed himself from the iron tight hold Ichigo had had on him between his legs. Recognition dawned on the attacker's face as he saw Ichigo's orange hair and he immediately threw another punch at Ichigo. However, Ichigo was prepared this time and fuelled with an unbelievable amount of rage. He was not going to let this scum of the universe get away.

Punches and kicks were thrown and minutes later he found himself on top of the bastard with his hands around the guy's throat. Instantly he started to apply pressure to the man's throat and a part of him enjoyed hearing the rasping sounds as he struggled to breath. Beneath him the bastard started to squirm, and Ichigo simply squeezed his thighs closer together against the bastard's ribcage making it even more difficult for him to breath.

"Like this, do you?" he snarled. Never had he felt hatred this strong before and it just fuelled the anger that boiled inside him.

The guy beneath him simply struggle more as his air supply started to run out. His face was bright red and his eyes were bulging out in fear as his hands scratched at Ichigo's arms trying to loosen them.

"Is this what you did to her, huh? Is this what she felt as you forced yourself inside her?" he demanded. "Did it feel good? Was it worth it? Or was it just some game to you? Some sick initiation for the yakuza?" he continued as he tightened his grip on the man's neck. The scratching of the man's hands was becoming less as the choking sounds were becoming harsher, but Ichigo could not find it in himself to care. What would it matter if there was one less rapist on the streets? Inuzuri would be safer if this man was dead, right?

"Ichigo!?" he heard his name called behind him. But he didn't lose his concentration. This man was going to die for what he did.

"ICHIGO! STOP!" came the voice again, only this time he felt the power of kido overcome him and his arms were harshly pulled behind him.

The man beneath him gasped in lungful after lungful of air and Ichigo couldn't help but hate him for that. "Bakudo number 9: Horin" he snarled at the bastard as he harshly broke the Sai spell that had been cast on him. He furiously turned around to face the person who had just stopped him from getting justice for the teenage girl, all the while being mindful to control the Horin spell he had just cast.

"What the hell?!" he yelled.

Rukia stared at her boyfriend in disbelief. Today had been Yoshio's birthday and she had just finished covering for Natsumi for a couple of hours so that she could visit her husband on his birthday. She'd only been 3 steps into shunpo on her way back to the Seireitei when she'd felt Ichigo's reiatsu flare. Concerned and confused as she'd traced his reiatsu to Inuzuri, she'd immediately headed back to her home province and easily located Ichigo as his reiatsu was flaring wildly.

The site that greeted her had shocked her greatly. Ichigo had been on top of another person and appeared to be strangling them, successfully if the rasping breaths of the other person behind him were anything to go by.

"What the hell are you doing, Ichigo?" she asked in her best serious Lieutenant's voice, the one that never failed to have her subordinates quivering at her feet.

Ichigo stared at his girlfriend angrily, not quite sure how to respond to her. Their eyes locked and he saw the confusion, and if he was not mistaken, fear, in her eyes. Several minutes passed with only the gasping sounds of the rapist filling the air, neither soul reaper willing to break whatever battle they were silently waging.

Eventually Ichigo spoke "Just cleaning up the streets" he stated offhand as if almost strangling someone was a normal occurrence.

Rukia's brow creased in consternation and she viewed her boyfriend warily. Never had she seen Ichigo act so cold and aloof before and it worried her greatly. He was passionate and hot headed and she barely recognised the man standing before her "What do you mean, 'Cleaning up the streets'"? she asked her most officious tone.

"Just as I said" Ichigo replied in the same offhand tone as before as he tightened the kido rope around the shatei causing him to start gasping for air again.

"Ichigo, stop!" Rukia cried. "You know it's against the law to commit murder. Have you learnt nothing at the Academy?" she continued desperately. What the hell had gotten into him? His eyes burnt with a fury that she had not seen before and it scared her.

Ichigo scoffed. "Ever heard the saying 'An eye for an eye'?" he asked in a calm voice, almost too calm, to which Rukia nodded. "Well lets just say he is getting his comeuppance".

Rukia cast her eye over to the man currently lying tied up in the street. He was clearly in agony and bruises were starting to form on his neck from where Ichigo had been crushing his neck before she had arrived. It took her a few seconds to recognise him as one of the shatei from the local yakuza.

"Ichigo, you can't just kill him in the street because he's one of the shatei that's been attacking the orphanage. If you kill him in battle that's one thing, it's considered self-defence, but you can't just kill him in the street!" she yelled in exasperation.

Ichigo scoffed again. "Did you ever think it was self-defence?" he asked in a deadly tone.

Rukia regarded her boyfriend, and her brow furrowed further as she realised that Ichigo did in fact have a bruise forming on his jaw. "Is that why you were trying to kill him, because he punched you in the face? What happened Ichigo?" she asked again in a stern voice. If the shatei had assaulted Ichigo then potentially he could be brought to Central 46 for punishment.

A sarcastic laugh left Ichigo's throat. "My jaw? It's nothing. No, I was talking about the teenage girl he raped in an alleyway about 10 streets from here actually. She can't really move right now so I thought I would catch up with the bastard instead" he replied in a lethal tone.

Surprise and appal flitted across Rukia's face as she took in Ichigo's words. She remembered what it was like growing up in the Inuzuri, how she'd always been looking over her shoulder making sure no one was following her, how her blood would run cold whenever she would have to go down a dark alley or when she found herself out on her own at night. She'd been so lucky to have met Renji and her friends when she did. They'd formed their own little family and they'd all been protective of each other, the guys being even more protective of her much to her chagrin at the time. Her heart ached for the young girl who had just been through the ordeal and she hoped that she had a family of her own to care for her. Maybe she would try and find her after she had calmed Ichigo down to see if she could help.

As Ichigo's girlfriend, and a woman in her own right, she now understood why Ichigo was acting the way he was. He was a protector by nature and abhorred violence against woman and children. She remembered how he had reacted when he had first met Mai at the orphanage and she had explained about the yukaza and their initiations. Rape to him was beyond unacceptable and she had no doubt in her mind that if she didn't stop him he would probably murder the soul in front of her. Right now she had to be Lieutenant Kuchiki and stop her boyfriend from doing something that could get him get him into serious trouble. She squared her shoulders and steel entered her eyes once again. She was a Lieutenant of the Gotei 13 and as such it was up to her to uphold the laws of the Seireitei, no matter how badly she did not want to right now.

"Unless he was attacking you then it is not considered self defence. If you kill him then it will be murder and I will have no choice to arrest you" she stated in a tone of authority.

Ichigo stared at his girlfriend in disbelief barely able to comprehend what she was saying. "You're kidding me, right? He rapes someone and _I'm_ the one who would get punished if he dies? I just told you he raped someone and you threaten to arrest _me_? What about that poor girl, huh? Who's going to stick up for her rights?"

"What happens in the Rukongai does not affect us. As a student soul reaper you are a representative of the Gotei 13 and if you murder that man, regardless of the crime he is alleged to have committed, I will have to arrest you" '_but please don't make me'_ she added as an afterthought. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Ichigo to the one of the Central Great Underground Prison.

"What will happen to him if I let him go, huh? Will he get punished? Will that girl get justice?" he yelled angrily.

Rukia paused in her response. From her experience of living in Inuzuri she knew that nothing would happen to the bastard if Ichigo let him go. There were laws in the Soul Society, and although they were upheld in the Seireitei and the higher districts of the Rukongai, the further out you went into the Rukongai the less they applied. They were pretty much non-existent in Inuzuri and she knew there would be no justice for the young victim. She had witnessed it too many times as a child to know that nothing would happen, in fact the shatei would probably be celebrated for "claiming" another of the Inuzuri women.

"There is nothing that can be done" she answered in a resigned tone. "Now let him go" she demanded.

Ichigo only tightened the rope around the man and stared at Rukia in defiance. How could she not care? Didn't she want to see the rapist get punished? Rukia was a strong, passionate, caring woman - she'd set up an orphanage for Kami's sake - how could she not care about a young rape victim?

"Do you remember what you told me about Soul Society not long after you transferred your powers to me?" he asked her darkly.

Rukia shook her head unsure as to where Ichigo was taking the conversation.

"You told me that Soul Society was like a paradise. That nine out of ten times it is better than the Living World and that hunger was never a problem. Look around Rukia, does this look like a paradise?"

Rukia swallowed harshly. How was she supposed to respond to that? Maybe 300 years ago Soul Society was a better place to live than the Living World, but she knew from her time living with the Kurosaki's that things had moved on now in the Living World and that conditions there were generally better that those in Soul Society. She also knew from her time in Inuzuri what it was like to go hungry and to live in fear every day.

"No Ichigo, it's not the paradise it once was" she replied carefully "Like everything it has its faults and Soul Society has fallen behind the Living World in many respects. It's not perfect, but neither is the Living World. I remember from watching the news on TV when I was living with you that there is conflict and wars in the Living World and that innocent people are killed every day. There's unfairness and hardship there too, Ichigo".

Ichigo considered Rukia's words carefully, but couldn't help himself from tightening the kido rope around the bastard. He wanted him to suffer greatly.

"That's true Rukia, but the Living World at least has a justice system that gives the victim a chance of finding peace and for criminals to be punished for their crimes. Here there is nothing. Who is going to make this man suffer for what he has done?" Ichigo asked seriously.

Rukia desperately searched her brain for a response, all too aware that one wrong word could see Ichigo do something that would have dire consequences. "You were a Police Officer in the Living World, right? Surely you must have witnessed failures of the justice system and inequality between people?" she asked in a serious tone. "What did you do when that happened?"

Ichigo remembered the cases where they could not gather enough evidence to prosecute the person he _knew_ had committed murder, and also those cases they had lost as the jury had found the accused innocent. He remembered how indignant, angry, and helpless he had felt, but he hadn't been able to retaliate then.

"I was bound by my oath as Police Officer, there was nothing I could do" he answered gravely.

A spark of hope ignited within Rukia but died at Ichigo's next question.

"But let me ask you this, Rukia. How did you feel growing up here seeing people get hurt and knowing that nothing would get done about it, that there was no chance of justice or of seeing bad people punished? Didn't you wish then that someone would punish this scum that hurts people?"

"I didn't know any different Ichigo" she responded in a frank tone. "I had no memory of the Living World, and even if I did, I've lived a much longer life than you and at the time I lived in the Living World things were probably the same here as they were there. The Soul Society _was_ probably like a paradise compared to the Living World back then. You're in a unique situation Ichigo in that you can remember the Living World. Most of the residents in the Rukongai can't and they never get to visit like the shinigami do. They don't know any different and just get on with things. You learn to live with the danger and to avoid it as much as possible. If you're used to there being no punishment then you don't think it's strange that no one is punished."

Ichigo shot her a dark look after her statement and she feared how he would respond. "It's not that I don't care, Ichigo, it's just there isn't a solution".

Rukia's heart beat rapidly in her chest. Kido rope burns were starting to form on the restrained man's skin from where he was struggling against the restraints and his lips were starting to turn blue as his fight for breath increased as Ichigo tightened the ropes even further. If Ichigo didn't let him go soon then she really would have to arrest him for murder.

"Ichigo..."

"No" was his defiant reply. "I'm sorry Rukia, but he has to be punished" and with that Ichigo turned away from his girlfriend and tightened the kido rope one final time.

"Ichigo no!" Rukia exclaimed in panic. She couldn't let her boyfriend do this. He was a good man, a kind man, he was not a murderer. "Please don't Ichigo. You're above this. Let him go . Please..."

Something in Rukia's tone stopped him from tightening the ropes again. Was she pleading with him? He had never heard her plea for anything before. Not her life, not even for a Chappy toy! Hell, Byakuya would probably disown her if he heard her plea for anything. He peered over his shoulder and what he saw sent his heart plunging into his stomach. Gone was the Lieutenant Kuchiki mask that he knew Rukia had been wearing during their conversation. His usually strong, capable girlfriend looked scared and panicked and his heart dropped in his chest. He wanted justice for the young rape victim, but he couldn't drag Rukia into this. If he killed the bastard then Rukia would be a witness. If she didn't arrest him and Central 46 found out she could be stripped of her position and jailed, if not worse. If she did arrest him then he would probably be tried and convicted of murder and they would never see each other again. He couldn't put Rukia through all that for the sake of this scum. He couldn't have his girlfriend afraid of him or what he might do. Seconds later he released the spell and the bastard started gasping for air yet again.

Relief flooded through Rukia and her shoulders visibly sagged as she saw Ichigo loosen the binds. Never had she seen him look so angry or dangerous, not even when his hollow took over, and he had truly scared her. She was overcome with emotion. Part of her wanted to hit him for being so stupid, the other part of her wanted to hug him to thank him for not letting his dark side take over and murder the rapist, and part of her wanted to kiss him and thank him for wanting justice for the young rape victim.

"What now?" he asked seriously as he turned to stare at his girlfriend. Realisation was starting to dawn on him that he had almost murdered someone in cold blood and a sick feeling formed in his stomach. Wasn't that everything he stood against as a shinigami and a former Police Officer? How had he lost control of himself like that?

Rukia shrugged helplessly. "We go and try and find the young girl and help her?" she suggested quietly.

Ichigo nodded and cast one last look at the shatei curled up on the floor "The next time you attack the orphanage I will kill you" he stated in a deadly serious tone before he started to walk towards Rukia. However, within a second of him moving away from the bastard he had almost strangled he heard the sound of a sword being drawn and he saw Rukia's eyes widen. A second later a Shakkaho ball of burning reiatsu went shooting past him and he glanced behind to see the charred remains of the rapist. Not one part of him felt any sympathy for the guy.

Rukia's eyes met his and he peered at her with one eye brow raised.

"The bastard was about to attack an unarmed student of the Spiritual Arts Academy with a sword. It was my job to as a Lieutenant in the Gotei 13 protect you" she replied with a shrug, not feeling one bit of regret for killing the rapist. What she had said was the truth anyway.

"Works for me" Ichigo replied mimicking her shrug.

"How badly was the girl injured?" Rukia asked in a concerned manner.

"Badly. There was blood between her legs" Ichigo replied seriously, glad for the distraction from the self-disgust building within him. He could deal with that later, right now he needed to help the teenage girl like he had told her he would.

Rukia nodded distractedly. "Show me where she is and I'll take her to the orphanage for the night. I should be able to heal some of her injuries with kido"

"Ok, follow me" Ichigo replied as he leapt into shunpo. Seconds later they reached the dark alleyway and the outline of the girl could just about be made out. Ichigo was just about to head into the passageway when he felt Rukia's hand on his arm holding him back.

"Maybe I should go in first?" she asked softly, to which Ichigo nodded in understanding.

Tentatively Rukia made her way into the alleyway. "Hello?" she called as she cast a modified shakkaho spell to light up the alleyway better. The sight that greeted her took her breath away and her heart went out to the teenager.

The girl looked at her warily and Rukia instantly arranged her face into a reassuring smile as she approached the girl cautiously.

"Hi. I'm Rukia. I'm a friend of Ichigo's, the man that found you - the one with the orange hair".

Recognition flared in the girl's eyes and Rukia continued forward as she sensed Ichigo following behind her. She crouched down in front of the teenage girl so they were at eye level. "Do you have any family here?"

"N...no. I...I can't find them! I've only been here two days!" the young girl cried out in desperation. "I...I just wanted somewhere quiet to rest for a little bit..." she began before she started sobbing again.

Gently Rukia pulled the young girl into a hug. "Shhhh. It's going to be ok. What's your name?" she asked softly.

"Umeko" the teenage girl replied.

"It's nice to meet you Umeko" Rukia replied warmly. "How old are you?"

"Four...fourteen" Umeko replied.

At fourteen she could legitimately accept Umeko into the orphanage and she felt relief knowing that she could keep the young girl safe for the next few years and help her to adjust to life in the Rukongai. However, she felt disgusted that the bastard she had just killed had stolen the innocence of one so young.

"You can come with me and I'll take you some place safe where you can rest for a few days. No one will bother you there, I promise" she advised the young girl kindly.

Umeko looked up at Rukia "I..I don't want to be a bother" she protested weakly.

"It's no bother" Rukia reassured warmly noting just how exhausted and desolate the girl appeared. "I help run an orphanage and you can rest there for as long as you like. There are some medicines there that will help with your...injuries, and a change of clothes and a bed. It's basic, but it's safe."

The young girl nodded tiredly and Rukia gently helped her stand.

"Did you find him?" she whispered to Ichigo as Rukia and she past him.

Ichigo nodded. "You don't have to worry about him anymore. He's gone."

The young girl smiled weakly and together the three of them headed towards the orphanage.

* * *

_I appreciate that rape is an emotive subject and 14 is very young for a rape victim, but I wanted an age that would qualify her for the orphanage, but old enough that she would still look more like a woman than a child. Unfortunately we live in a world were this does happen. _

_From my research on the internet about the yakuza, __Wakagashira is the first lieutenant in yakuza and the S__hatei are the "Little Brothers" which I've interpreted as the foot soldiers who do the "dirty work" so to speak. _

_Almost scared to ask what you guys think..._


	19. Chapter 19

_Apologies for the delay in posting this chapter. I've had laptop problems, writer block, relatives in hospital, the arrival of an unexpected housemate (on account of her finding out her husband was cheating on her), two bouts of laryngitis, and I've been on a mini-break! All in all I just haven't had a lot of time to write._

_Thank you for all the reviews and alerts that I received for the last chapter and your comments reassured me that the rape storyline was not too harsh. I can't believe this story has over 100 reviews and I thank you for your support. _

_Anyway here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it. _

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Like the other 18 disclaimers, I do not own Bleach. _

* * *

"Congratulations Class of 2033, you have officially graduated!"

Ichigo cheered and threw his cap into the air with the rest of the graduating class. It had taken him 8 months but he had finally graduated the Spiritual Arts Academy and was a fully fledged soul reaper. No more history or law lessons, no more restrictions on his zanpaktou, no more red sash across his chest. From now on it was purely a black and white uniform for him and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, a surprising wave of relief also flooding through him. He chatted and celebrated with his fellow soul reapers and felt himself start to relax after the weeks of exams they had all endured. His eyes drifted over the room and he caught sight of a petite soul reaper from the corner of his eye and immediately his heart jumped a little in his chest.

Rukia.

The past few weeks had been especially tough for her and he couldn't wait to spend some alone time with her now that he was finally done with the Academy. He was planning on speaking to Byakuya tomorrow to obtain his permission to court Rukia as today his new status within Soul Society, and his new position with the Gotei 13, would be revealed. He had no doubt the announcement that was being made later on today would cause shock waves not only throughout the Seireitei, but also the Rukongai as well, but he knew his new position within the Gotei 13 was one that was desperately needed. His new position within Soul Society was not one he was altogether comfortable with, but he hoped that it would help with his situation when he finally asked Byakuya's permission to marry Rukia.

But right now all he could think of was all of the time that he and Rukia could now spend together, even if her brother did not agree to his proposition tomorrow. Thankfully there had been no new attacks at the orphanage in the past 2 weeks and Ichigo hoped that this was a sign that things would once again settle down as all the fighting and constant upset was not good for the children.

Luckily over the past few weeks Captain Ukitake had continued to respond well to his treatment and he had been able to return to work, albeit confined to light duties. Rukia was still having to do a lot of the physical training work, and with everything else that had been going on, Ichigo could tell that she was exhausted and needed a break. Therefore he could not wait to spoil her rotten now that he did not have to attend the Academy all week and he was going to force her to leave work on time and relax even if it killed him.

However, he just needed to get through the obligatory celebratory tea ceremony first.

The Spiritual Arts Academy in conjunction with the Gotei 13 had arranged a tea ceremony for the top 10% of the graduating class to have tea with the Captains and Lieutenants of the Gotei 13, and seeing as he had graduated at the top of the class, he was obliged to attend. On the positive side, at least it meant he would get to see Rukia sooner rather than later even if he wouldn't be able to touch her or hold her like he wanted to.

Gradually the crowd flittered away as those not attending the tea ceremony went out into the Seireitei to celebrate with their friends and family and a wave of sadness washed over him that none of his family members were here to celebrate his graduation with him. However, he reminded himself that was a good thing as it meant they were all alive and well and hopefully enjoying life once again. Little Ichigo would be 8 months old now and he hoped his nephew was bringing joy to his family in the light of his own untimely demise. He was jostled out of his reverie by the sound of a soft voice next to him.

"Congratulations Ichigo" Rukia said warmly as she smiled up at her boyfriend. She was so proud of him for everything he had accomplished in the past few months, let alone the fact that he was now the fastest person to have ever graduated from the Academy and therefore considered a genius, the baka. But she was worried about him too. Although they had barely seen each other since he had almost murdered the man that had harmed Umeko, every time they had seen each other he had seemed distracted and had been brooding about something. He had denied that anything was wrong with him and she had put his mood down to the stress of his final exams, but she was pleased to see that her boyfriend did in fact seem a little happier now that he had graduated, although she could still see heaviness in his eyes.

"Thanks" he said simply as he returned the warm smile. Every part of him wanted to grab his girlfriend and hold her tightly, but he was wise enough to know that he could not do that in front of her brother. He was so close to being able to ask Byakuya's permission to court Rukia and he was not going to do anything to jeopardise that. Just as he was about to try and get Rukia to sneak out of the hall with him so they could have a little time together alone, he heard the bellowing voice of Renji from behind him.

"Congratulations Ichigo. Looks like you're a real man now" Renji teased with a smile.

"RENJI..." he ground out between gritted teeth as his fists clenched at his sides. Rukia simply rolled her eyes at the exchange hoping that it wasn't attracting her brother's attention. He had been especially observant of her since she had revealed that Ichigo and her were "friends" once again and she was desperate for him to not discover just how "friendly" Ichigo and she were.

"Ichigo! There you are! Congratulations!" came Rangiku's feminine voice before Ichigo could say anything further. She quickly joined their small group and was followed reluctantly by her Captain.

"Yes. Congratulations Ichigo. It is quite an achievement to have graduated from the Academy so quickly. You should be very proud of yourself" came the deep, serious voice of Captain Hitsugaya.

"Thank you Rangiku, Toshiro" Ichigo said with a nod.

"How many times do I have to tell you!? It's Captain Hitsuguya" the now not so young Captain ground out. In fact, the once short Captain had grown into being a tall willowy young man and it had taken Ichigo a minute to recognise who he was.

"Shiro-chan! There you are!" a noticeably pregnant Lieutenant Hinamori cried out in relief as she came and pecked the young Captain on the cheek. "Oh, hi Ichigo. Congratulations on graduating by the way" Lieutenant Hinamori greeted sincerely.

"Uh, thanks, I guess" he replied, somewhat surprised to see Captain Hitsuguya start caressing Lieutenant Hinamori's bump tenderly. Apparently some things had changed in Soul Society since he had arrived.

"Icchiiiiii!" came the youthful sound of a girl's voice and the next thing he knew a young woman with pink hair was hugging him. Ichigo hesitantly returned the hug, his eyes widening when he saw who was approaching him.

"Oi! What do you think you are doing to Yachiru?" the Captain of the 11th yelled.

"N...nothing!" Ichigo choked out. Kami! He had only just graduated the Academy and he sure didn't want to get into another fight with Kenpenchi just yet.

The pink haired young woman whipped round to stare down Captain Zaraki "Ken-chan, nothing's going on! I found Icchi for you and I was just giving him a congratulatory hug" she explained stroppily as her mood changed from happy to annoyed in the blink of an eye, as only a teenage girl's moods can change.

"Yeah? Well, I don't like it! How many times have I told you to stay away from men. They're no good for you..."

"But Kenny, it's _Icchi_" Yachiru replied.

"Yeah Zarahi, it's _Icchi_" Rangiku drawled, her eyes bright with mischief, "He wouldn't hurt Yachiru".

"Watch your spiritual pressure will you. I don't want anything to happen to the baby" Captain Hitsuguya growled at Kenpenchi as he stepped protectively in front of Momo, Rangiku stepping up to her Captain's side to support her Captain and defend her friend if needed.

"Relax guys. We're in the Academy, nothing is going to happen to the baby" Renji tried to re-assure everyone as he sensed the tension long the 6 members of the Gotei 13 were bickering quietly amongst themselves and Ichigo soon realised this was the perfect moment to get Rukia out of the hall and somewhere private before things got out of hand. Casting his eyes around the room he noted that Byakuya seemed to be engrossed in conversation with one of the lecturers and he decided to take the opportunity whilst he could.

"Meet me in the second floor stationery cupboard" he whispered into Rukia's ear as he brushed past her and went to talk to Captain Hirako who was making his way over to the commotion.

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise and she quickly looked around the hall to see if anyone would miss her presence. Renji, Momo, Yachiru, Rangiku, Captain Hitsuguya, and Captain Zaraki were all bickering with one another, although she could feel just how reserved they were being given the circumstances they were in. Her brother looked engrossed in conversation with a lecturer she vaguely remembered from her time here, and her Captain stood talking with Captain Kyoraku, Lieutenant Sasakibe and the Head Captain. The other Captains and Lieutenants were busy talking amongst themselves or with the newest recruits of the Academy.

Feeling reassured that her presence would not be missed for the next few minutes, she headed towards the exit of the hall that lead to the female bathroom, that way if anyone had seen her leave it would look like she was heading to the bathroom. She noted as she left the hall that Ichigo was still in conversation with Captain Hirako however, the Captain was looking more and more anxious about the heavy discussion that his Lieutenant was involved in and she didn't think it would be too long before Ichigo would be joining her.

Her heart beat rapidly and she felt incredible naughty as she navigated the empty halls of the Academy and she noted the time on one of the numerous clocks that covered the long corridors of the Academy. Twenty minutes until the tea ceremony started. That should be just enough time for her to congratulate Ichigo properly and she soon found herself in the very same stationery cupboard that she had been in last time.

It had been weeks since Ichigo and she had spent any quality time together, what with Ichigo's exams, the retribution attacks on the orphanage, helping Umeko settle into the orphanage and into life in general in Inuzuri, and the demands of her Division. She hoped now that he had graduated they would be able to spend some more time together and she hoped that he had a job offer from one of the Divisions already so that they could visit each other more regularly without drawing suspicion to one another and their growing relationship. Although it terrified her to some degree, she also hoped that it wouldn't take Ichigo long to move up the ranks and get a seated position, because the sooner he had an Officer position, the sooner he could ask her brother's permission to court her and the more likely it would be that Byakuya would let him court her officially. Because although Ichigo and she had only been seeing each other for 8 months, she had no doubt in her mind that she wanted to spend the rest of her time in Soul Society with him.

She was broken out of her reverie by the sound of the door opening and her heart leapt into her throat as Ichigo entered the room. There was a moments silence as they paused to stare at each other and in the next instant they were in each other's arms with their lips locked together as they were reunited once again.

"Hi" Ichigo whispered against his girlfriend's lips as they broke for air.

"Hi" she whispered right back as she rested her head against Ichigo's chest. The sound of his rapid heartbeat calmed her immediately and her eyes slid shut in contentment as she felt herself relax against his warm body. She tightened her arms around his waist and sighed when she felt his arms tighten around her too. She had missed this closeness over the past few weeks and she wondered how she could have become so reliant on someone in only 8 months.

Ichigo felt Rukia relax against him and he responded in kind as she tightened her grip around him. Gently he lowered his head to rest on hers and pressed a soft kiss against the crown of her head. He let the tranquillity of the moment soothe him as he held his girlfriend in his arms, before his brow creased in confusion. "I didn't know Lieutenant Hinamori was pregnant?" he asked inquisitively.

Rukia wriggled further into her boyfriend's embrace as she answered. "Uh huh. Rangiku got both Captain Hitsuguya and Lieutenant Hinamori, well Hitsuguya now, drunk at the Valentine's Day dance and it turns out that whilst drunk Captain Hitsuguya finally confessed his love for Momo and kissed her. Momo said she was horrified at first when he confessed that he'd loved her for as long as he could remember, but when he kissed her it felt right, like something had clicked into place. Anyway, they were married within 2 months and now she's 4 and 1/2 months pregnant".

"That's nice. Especially after everything they went through with Aizen" he mumbled sincerely. He was genuinely happy for the couple and it reminded him that after everything he had been through in the past 8 months he was sure he didn't love anyone as much as he loved Rukia. She had stopped him from doing something that could have jeopardised everything he wanted in life and he would forever be indebted to her for that.

Shame washed over him every time he thought of the incident with Umeko's attacker. He had taken a vow as a Police Officer in the Human World to protect the innocent and seek justice on their behalf. That night he had lost control of himself and nearly given up everything he believed in, and it scared him to a certain extent. He honestly believed that killing or harming someone because they had harmed another person was not the honourable thing to do. If he had killed Umeko's attacker he would have been no better than him, two wrongs did not make a right after all. But Rukia had stopped him from losing himself and he would forever be thankful for that. After all, it was that incident that had led to his meeting with Yamamoto which had led to his new position within the Gotei 13. Gently he pulled Rukia closer to him as a wave of thankfulness passed over him.

"You need to stop working so hard Rukia. You look exhausted" he chastised her in a quiet worried voice as he recalled how tired she had looked.

"Right back at you" she replied as she tilted her head up to look at him. She removed one of her arms from his waist and gently caressed the lines of his face "These weren't here the last time I saw you. I know you're worried about the orphanage and Umeko, but you need to rest and relax too" she whispered in a caring voice.

"That's exactly what I plan on doing now that I've graduated" he replied with a small smile as he ran one of his hands through Rukia's hair "And I'm going to make you too" he continued with a small smirk as he lowered his mouth to kiss her once again. Time seemed to stand still as the two soul reapers enjoyed their stolen time together and gradually the kiss began to heat up.

Before long Rukia found herself once leant against the racking of the stationery cupboard with her legs wrapped around Ichigo's waist and his hands running all over her body, her skin on fire wherever he touched.

"What is it with you, me and storage closets" she gasped as Ichigo laced the sensitive skin of her neck with kisses making her nipples tighten almost painfully against the tight bindings of her uniform and her most intimate area become slick with arousal.

"I don't know, but I think we need to get one in our house when we eventually get married. Imagine the fun we can have" he mumbled against her skin as he trailed his mouth back up her throat and claimed her lips yet again.

Ichigo lost himself in the softness of Rukia's lips and pressed himself even closer to her, swallowing the moan that she emitted into his mouth as his hardness rubbed against her sensitive core. Desire coursed through him and he could feel his self-restraint slipping as she ground up herself against him harder. He started to massage one of her breasts harshly through her uniform in response earning him a wanton moan.

Rukia tightened her arms around Ichigo's neck and she was just about to pull herself even closer to him and the delicious friction of his hand and _him,_ when the door to the stationery closet was thrown open causing both her and Ichigo's heads to whip towards the door in shock. However, that was nothing compared to the feelings of surprise and dread that washed over her as she realised who was standing in the doorway and she could feel the colour drain from her face.

"Scatter Senbonzakura".

* * *

_I hope this chapter was worth the wait! There is only one more chapter to go and then an epilogue (unless I get a massive brainwave for another plotline) and I will try and update every 1-2 weeks now. _

_Reviews welcomed as always. _


	20. Chapter 20

_Thank you for your reviews, favourites and alerts and apologies for being slightly late in posting this chapter. I've had a few problems with my laptop and summer has finally arrived in the UK so I haven't had much time to write!_

_Without further delay, here is the next chapter of Moving On! I hope you enjoy..._

**_Disclaimer:_**_ Would I really be writing on FF if I owned Bleach?_

* * *

Ichigo stared in shock towards the doorway of the stationery cupboard. Of all the ways he had thought of to inform Byakuya Kuchiki of his and Rukia's relationship, this was one that had never entered his mind.

Of course he could not see said person due to the deadly pink "petals" that swirled around him and Rukia. He felt Rukia loosen her legs from his hips and reluctantly he set her down on the floor making sure to position her behind him to protect her from her brother's wrath, feeling uneasy that he was not able to protect her back as well given that the tiny pink blades swirled around them in a deadly circle.

"You better not have been doing to her what I think you were doing boy" came the cold voice of Byakuya Kuchiki.

Silence rained over the small space and the only sound that could be heard was the swishing of the deadly pink blades.

Ichigo was not a fool. He knew that both he and Rukia were in serious trouble, especially Rukia, and his main aim right now was to make sure Rukia escaped from this situation unharmed. "Byakuya listen..." Ichigo began.

"Enough!" came the low cold voice of Byakuya and the petals tightened around the couple, causing Ichigo to pull Rukia closer to him in order to protect her as much as possible.

Rukia was paralysed in fear. Never had she heard her brother's voice sound so cold and deadly before and she grabbed Ichigo's biceps to steady herself as the world started to spin around her. She had just been caught red handed by her brother in an extremely compromising position in a stationery cupboard at the Spiritual Arts Academy no less. This was not supposed to be how Byakuya found out about her and Ichigo. He was _never_ supposed to find out about her and Ichigo until Ichigo had a seated position in the Gotei 13 and was able to care for her as Byakuya would deem appropriate. Up until this moment she had been almost positive that her brother would never harm her, regardless of the circumstances, however, as the dangerous blades came closer to both her and Ichigo she realised that she may have just crossed the boundary with her brother and that the promise he had made to her sister might not be enough to save her this time. She had dishonoured not only herself, but the family name too and with Byakuya's sense of honour and pride she was not sure she could redeem herself this time.

The sound of the swishing pink blades continued to fill the air and seconds passed with no one or nothing moving. Then suddenly the pink blades were called back to their owner and the cold, deadly, voice of Byakuya Kuchiki could once again be heard from the hallway.

"Does anybody else know about this...thing" he spat out in contempt.

"N..." Ichigo began but was quickly cut off by his girlfriend.

"Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku do" Rukia whispered as she moved out into the hallway and sunk to her knees bowing down low at her brother's feet as she apologised to her brother. "Please forgive me nii-sama. I did not mean to bring shame onto the Kuchiki name" she choked out as she fought the tears that were about to overcome her.

"Captain Kyoraku knows?" Ichigo queried with a frown as he followed Rukia out into the hallway and witnessed her apology "But how?" He obviously knew that Captain Ukitake knew as he had practically caught them red handed the first time he had kissed Rukia, but how had Captain Kyoraku found out? He'd thought they'd been extremely careful over the past few month, the present situation excluded.

"Silence!" Byakuya shouted and a heavy silence filled the air once again.

Ichigo saw Rukia flinch and anger boiled inside him. It was one thing to treat him this way, but another to upset Rukia. Every part of him itched to grab Zangetsu from his back and teach Byakuya a lesson for the way he was treating his sister, but a small part of him could empathise with the way he was acting. When he had first discovered his sisters were dating as teenagers he'd wanted to rip off each and every one of their boyfriend's heads and he'd issued numerous "warnings" to any boy he felt was getting to close to his sisters for comfort. On the whole he'd thought he'd done a pretty good job of protecting his sisters from the teenage boys that pursued them, but a few had slipped through the net and he wasn't ashamed to admit that a few had met the end of his fist on the few occasions one of his sister's had had their heart broken. As far as he was concerned no one was good enough for his sisters, and when Yuzu's now husband had first come to ask his Dad's and his permission to marry her, he had wanted to beat the guy to a pulp - not that he wasn't a good man, it's just that he wanted to _touch_ his sister. A part of him hoped that Byakuya was acting this way in order to protect his sister and not purely out of hatred of him or to uphold the family name.

He peered at Rukia again and could see just how pale she was. Byakuya's approval was important to her and he'd promised her on the night he's arrived in Soul Society that he would do this properly and he intended to protect her and her honour at all costs. Swallowing his pride and gathering all the self-restraint he could muster he dropped to his knees and bowed low in front of the Head of the Kuchiki clan.

"Forgive me Lord Kuchiki. I meant no disrespect to you or the Kuchiki family and I can assure you that Rukia's _innocence_ is still intact" he stated with as much honesty and dignity as he could muster. Damn he must love the midget if he was willing to go through all this! From the corner of his eye he could see the start of Rukia's body and the look of surprise that flashed across her face at his words. "I respectfully request that Lady Kuchiki be allowed to leave this situation in order that we may discuss this incident in private" he asked in the same tone. Begging for forgiveness was not his forte after all.

It took all of Byakuya Kuchiki's training not to start in surprise at the boy's actions. Never in a million years would he have ever thought that Ichigo Kurosaki would be bowing at his feet addressing him in the correct manner.

"And why should I let her go?" The head of the Kuchiki clan asked coldly "You were both committing a great sin in this _cupboard_ of all places" he spat out.

"I...I apologise nii-sama" Rukia whispered with her head bowed low in mortification and shame. "I...I simply wanted to congratulate Ichigo for graduating at the top of his class but..."

"So this is how you congratulate people, Rukia?" Byakuya asked in his cold voice.

Ichigo's blood boiled at Byakuya insinuation and glancing to his side he could see the tears that rimmed Rukia's eyes and the pale skin of her face. Byakuya had no right to speak to Rukia in that manner. She was not his pet, she was a woman, a person, a Lieutenant in the 13 Court Guard Squad for goodness sake! She was entitled to make her own decisions. He'd tried to do the right thing by being respectful to her older brother, but that obviously was not going to work and he would not stand for his girlfriend to be insulted and upset. Within a second he was standing with Zangetsu drawn and ready for attack.

"Do not speak to her in that manner!" he yelled, before remembering the original question that Byakuya had asked. "And you should let her go because I love her and I will do _anything_ to protect those I love. You remember what I did at Sokyoku Hill? How I gave up everything to defeat Aizen? Well, I wasn't in love with your sister then. Imagine what I would do now to protect her now that I am in love with her. If you harm one hair on her head I will kill you Byakuya" he stated in a deadly calm voice, conviction dripping from every syllable that left his mouth.

Byakaya allowed one of his eye brows to raise as he studied the man before him. Could it be that the boy really cared for his sister? It did not matter if he did or not. He had promised Hisana that he would treat her sister as his own, and that's exactly what he was doing now. Over the years Rukia had become his pride, and much to his surprise he had come to care for her as deeply as any biological brother would. She was entitled to use the family name, but with that name came duty and responsibility. Being intimate with a man outside of marriage, and much less with a commoner, was beyond unacceptable. Ignoring the boy's threat he turned to his adoptive sister.

"Rukia, how long has this _thing_ been going on?" he asked coldly. If Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake knew about the relationship between his sister and the boy then it would only be a matter of time before the other noble families became aware of his sister's actions. Scandalous behaviour such as his sister's did not stay quiet for long.

She swallowed hard at her brother's question as she raised herself from the floor so she could answer her brother's question. The tension in the room was palpable and she feared that things would quickly descend into a fight between the two most important people in her life. Lying would be easiest. She could say that what he had just witnessed was her first kiss, that Ichigo and she had been nothing more than friends up until a few moments ago. But she could not and would not lie to her brother.

Squaring her shoulders and staring directly into his steel grey eyes she willed herself not to stutter as she answered. "8 months".

Anyone who did not know Byakuya Kuchiki as well as she did would have missed the flash of surprise that washed across her brother's face. Seconds later his eyes started to burn with an intensity she had never seen before and she knew that her brother was beyond furious.

_"8 months"_ he hissed, his eyes blazing.

"Yes" she answered clearly, amazed that the fear she felt did not show in her words.

In the next moment everything around her seemed to slow down. She saw her brother move his hand to the hilt of his sword. She saw his mouth start to form the deadly command and pure terror flooded her veins.

But at the same time she felt Ichigo's spiritual pressure rise, she saw him draw his sword back and his mouth start to say the deadly command for his zanpaktou.

Her life started to flash before her eyes as she realised the gravity of the situation. Her life in the Rukongai, her life as a student right here, her life after her adoption by the the Kuchiki's, her life as a member of the 13th Division, her time in the Living World with Ichigo, her life as a Lieutenant, and finally, her time with Ichigo in Soul Society. She didn't want to be forced away from Ichigo, she didn't want her brother to hate her, she didn't want either her brother or her boyfriend to get hurt, and deep down she didn't want the Kuchiki's to disown her as the Kuchiki Family Manor was where she felt closest to her sister. She felt like her heart was breaking in two because she realised that she was going to have to make a decision right now.

Her brother or her boyfriend.

Her past or her future.

"Scatter..."

"Getsuga..."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" she yelled as she grabbed her own zanpaktou and brought herself to stand between the two men that she loved, praying that both men loved and cared for her enough that they did not want to hurt her and that she had reacted in time to save both herself, her brother and her boyfriend.

What she did not count on was for back up to arrive.

"What is going on here?" a rather pale and tired looking Captain Ukitake shouted out in a serious tone. "Seal your weapons, all of you!"

Glancing to her right as she sheathed Sode no Shirayuki she noted that Captain Ukitake was restraining her brother, whilst on her left Captain Kyoraku was restraining her boyfriend.

"This is family business Ukitake" Byakuya informed his fellow Captain dismissively as he sheathed Senbonzakura. "It is none of your concern".

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong Byakuya" Captain Kyoraku drawled "Everybody downstairs felt you release your shikais and yama-jii got pissed. Ukitake and I got sent to investigate and I'm guessing you witnessed something between these two young shinigami that you didn't like" he continued in an amused tone.

"As I said, Kyoraku, this is family business. Rukia has informed me that both you and Captain Ukitake are aware of her little tryst with _the boy_, but that all ends now. There will be no more communication between the two. It is over and I respectfully request that the details of this go no further. I'm sure you are all aware that if details of this affair were ever to become public then Rukia's reputation would be ruined and the Kuchiki name clouded in shame" Byakuya stated with an air of superiority. "Now come along Rukia" he commanded as he shrugged off Ukitake's grip, which had loosened as he had sheathed his zanpaktou, and turned to head towards the stairs.

Rukia watched the scene unfold in front of her in disbelief. Had her brother just forbade her to see Ichigo, the one person who made her truly happy? Anger and indignation washed over her. Ever since she had been adopted by the Kuchiki's she had done had best to be the perfect Kuchiki, but whatever she had done had never been enough and they had always looked down at her. Whenever she attended a family gathering she was shunned, her "relatives" would blatantly speak about her and her "hoare of a sister that stole Lord Kuchiki's pride and dignity" in front of her, and a few months ago the Kuchiki's had employed the services of a matchmaker to marry her off - not that they had had much success given that she was not a pure blooded Kuchiki. How dare her brother take away the one person who truly loved and cared about her from her life?

"No" she stated softly, the word slipping from her mouth before she really had a chance to consider the consequences.

A heavy silence descended as four surprised faces whipped around to face her.

"Nii-sama, I care for you greatly and I will be forever indebted to you for what you have done for me. You have provided with a place to call home and if it were not for you I would never have known about my sister. But I will not let you take Ichigo from me".

Byakuya slowly turned to face the woman he had long ago adopted. The woman that looked so much like his beloved wife, and who right now had the same worried almost hopeless expression that Hisana always wore when she would head out to Inuzuri to look for her younger sister. The look that always tugged at his heart and made him want to do anything to find her younger sister just to make her happy. The look that begged for his love, his understanding, and his acceptance of the act that Hisana had committed all those years ago. Could it be that his pride loved _the boy_ as much as he had loved Hisana?

The two adopted siblings stared at each other for several minutes. No one dared move or breathed in the cramped space.

"Do you truly care for the boy?" Byakuya asked in a cold voice.

"Hai, nii-sama" she replied clearly as she looked her brother square in the eye, no doubt evident in her voice whatsoever. "I love him just like you loved nee-san" she whispered afterwards, a blush lighting her face as she spoke of the unspeakable, but her eyes never once strayed from those of her brother.

"He is a commoner, Rukia. There will be repercussions within the family" he stated in the same stoic voice, but Rukia knew her brother well enough to know that he was not threatening her, on the contrary he was trying to warn her of the drama marrying a commoner would cause.

"That's actually not true" Ichigo stated seriously.

"What?!" Rukia exclaimed in surprise and confusion as she whirled around to face her boyfriend, noticing that Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyouraku looked just as surprised.

"Explain yourself boy" Byakuya demanded.

Ichigo gently shrugged off the restraining arms of Captain Kyoraku as he came to stand in front of Rukia and gently took her hands in his own.

"The night the yakuzu first attacked the orphanage I was summoned to Central 46 when I returned to the Seireitei. I was informed that due to my services to Soul Society as a substitute soul reaper the Soul King has decided to ordain me as a lord. It's low ranking, but I will hold a noble status. The King has gifted me a small area of land where I can set up the Kurosaki estate. I have a sizeable amount saved from the bonus money cleansing all those hollows over the years has raised, and not forgetting the sizeable bonus for capturing Aizen. It's more than enough for us to build a house together and to live comfortably" he informed her seriously.

"And why does nobody know of this? The heads of the 3 remaining great noble families are not aware of this development" Byakuya demanded.

"He has a point, Ichigo. The Ukitakes are low ranking nobles and we have not been informed of any new Lordships either."

"Neither have the Kyorkau's that I am aware of"

Ichigo sighed as he turned to face the three Captains. "There will be an announcement by Central 46 tonight after the tea ceremony has ended. I asked for the news to be kept quiet until after I graduated as I did not want the news to become a distraction from my studies. Central 46 and Head Captain Yamamoto are the only other people in the Seireitei who know of this news as the Head Captain had to accompany me to the Central 46 compound".

"I see" Byakuya replied in a contemplative tone.

His gaze returned to Rukia's as he continued "I wanted to tell you but I was sworn to secrecy. Even I know not to mess with Central 46" he replied with an awkward chuckle as he nervously ran a hand through his hair. Rukia just continued to look at him with an incredulous look on her face.

"But as far as I am aware you have not received a job offer from the Gotei 13. How do you expect to keep my sister in the manner she has become accustomed without a job?" Byakuya asked in a sharp tone.

Ichigo turned to look Byakuya in the eye. "Details of my position within the Gotei 13 will be released during the tea ceremony so I suppose I can tell you now. I will be the joint 3rd seat of the 1st Division along with Genshiro Okikiba however, I will be stationed in the Rukongai for at least the next 12 months working on a new venture"

"What new venture?" Rukia asked breathlessly. This was almost becoming too much for her. Her boyfriend was a noble? He had a job offer as the third seat of the 1st Division working on a new venture? Her brother was at least listening to what Ichigo was saying?

Ichigo turned back to Rukia and peered earnestly into her eyes. He could see the swirling emotions of disbelief, confusion, and if he was not mistaken, hurt. "I wanted to tell you myself but with everything that's been going on with the orphanage and Captain Ukitake there never seemed to be a good time. The new venture was actually inspired by you, Rukia. The night when Ukemo was attacked you explained about the Rukongai and how it was lawless and justice for victims was really nothing but a dream. I realised there are a lot of good souls out there that deserve justice and safety and peace, so I started thinking and I realised that the skills I learnt as a Police Officer in the Living World could be taught to the souls in the Rukongai. They don't need to have spiritual pressure to defend and protect, just the willingness to learn and uphold the law. I presented my proposal to both Yamamoto and Central 46 and they agreed that a Rukongai Police Force might just work. They agreed to let me be seconded to the Rukongai for 12 months to try and set at a Police Force. The Seireitei will assist as much as it can by providing resources and training as required, such as communication devices and some self defence and restraint training etc. If it hadn't been for you, Rukia, showing me the orphanage and the lives of the Rukongai people I never would have thought of this. Now the hard working people of the Rukongai have a chance of living peacefully and safely, they have a chance at helping themselves and to seek justice against those that break the law" he informed her passionately with pride and conviction.

Rukia could feel the tears building in her eyes and she blinked rapidly to clear them. She would not cry in front of her brother or her boyfriend. Her heart filled with love and joy at Ichigo's proposition and she wanted nothing more than just to hug him. This was the man she knew and who she had fallen in love with. This kind, caring, honourable man that wanted peace and justice for all. This was the man she wanted to live with for the rest of her time in Soul Society.

Her head swung towards the head of her family and she could not stop the pleading tone of her voice "Nii-sama..."

Byakuya closed his eyes and sighed. Despite his objections to his sister's relationship with the boy he was not a fool and he knew that Ichigo would protect and defend his sister with everything he had. However, that was not what was guiding his decision. He could not stop hearing Hisana's voice in his head. She'd wanted her sister to be happy and she would have given Rukia the world had she known her when she was alive. If Hisana were here now she would be chastening him in that gentle tone of hers for denying her sister the one thing she wanted. Even without the boy's revelation of nobility, she would have been calling him a hypocrite for not allowing her sister to court a commoner, when she herself was one. Even after all this time he could not deny his wife, or her sister, anything.

"Very well, if everything the boy has said is true I will speak to the family at the next meeting about arranging a courtship" Byakuya informed his sister coolly and he had to fight the urge to smile as her face lit up in excitement and delight. Wherever Hisana was now he knew she would be happy with his decision.

"Thank you. Thank you so much nii-sama" Rukia gushed as joy and relief rushed over her.

"Yeah, thank Byakuya" Ichigo replied happily.

"I trust I can count on your discretion on this matter" he pointedly asked Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku.

"Hai" they both replied with a nod and a small smile. It wasn't often that they got to see both Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki look so happy.

The 5 noble soul reapers were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"If you wouldn't mind Captains Kyoraku, Ukitake and Kuchiki, Lieutenant Kuchiki, and Third Seat Kurosaki, the tea part is about to commence and the Head Captain her requested your presence" Lieutenant Sasakibe stated with authority.

"Hai" all 5 members of the Gotei 13 replied as they headed downstairs and towards the tea ceremony.

As Ichigo walked down the stairs of the Spiritual Arts Academy he contemplated how much his life had changed over the past 8 months. 9 months ago he had been a bachelor with a promising career in the Tokyo Police Department and a substitute soul reaper. But one earthquake and a train crash later, he was a permanent of Soul Society, the joint 3rd seat of the 1st Division, he was going to attempt to change the lives of the Rukongai people, and he was in love with Rukia Kuchiki. Life had definitely moved on, and in his opinion for the better. If there was one thing that was certain of, it was that his life in the Seireitei was definitely going to be interesting going forward.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed the final chapter of the story, only the Epilogue to go now (which I have to admit the draft is rather long!). I will do my best to publish the Epilogue next weekend, laptop permitting, _

_With regard to Ichigo becoming a noble, I couldn't find much information on the internet about how someone obtains a noble status. From what I remember from school, a person could be ordained a Lord by the King/Queen for things likes being a successful battle commander etc. I figured after everything Ichigo has done for Soul Society it wouldn't be too unreasonable for the Royal Family to give him a title. _


End file.
